Waltzing with Death
by The Green Seer
Summary: A story that follows our favorite monks after death and how they cope with the responsability of being Shinigami. Slightly crossover with Bleach but it doesn't involve the story line or any of the fillers. It happens 100 years after the series. - Currently being rewritten -
1. Chapter 1

**AN IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE (for the first time) READ IT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON!**

**Okay…this is an idea that came to me a long time ago. It's some sort of a crossover between Bleach and Xiaolin Showdown. Yeah weird! I don't know if I should put it in a category so if you please give me your opinion about it. Also I don't know if I'll continue it, I publish it to satisfy myself but I do have the story line planned.**

**So, the four dragons from XS (Omi, Kimiko, Clay and Raimundo) became shinigami. It passed like one hundred of years or so since they died and other dragons took their places. Also, the four of them became really powerful shinigami and bla bla bla and after a while came all that Aizen thing and the betrayal and three squads as you know remained without a captain. (I'm too lazy to explain more and beside everything made a lot more sense in my head)**

**Also I have to say they are older now, dunno how old, you decide, but I was thinking between 17-22! Now…**

**Kimiko - Captain of squad tree (yeah she took Ichimaru 's place); her lieutenant is Kira Izuru and her sword is named Hayame (dunno what it means but I like it), a fire type of course. Her zanpakuto is two swords kodachi with crimson hilts that she keeps on her lower back. Her shinigami uniform is also different from the others. She usually wears a black tank top with straps around the back of her neck and a long black dress with clefts on both sides with a red sash and the normal white haori. Her hair is always tied in a high ponytail. The command of her zanpakuto is 'Burn them to bone' and in its shikai, the edges are engulfed in fire. She also achieved Bankai.**

**Raimundo - Captain of squad nine with Hisagi Shuhei as his lieutenant. His zanpakuto is called Teikiatsu (means cyclone or hurricane or something like that) and it's a katana with a white hilt. The command is 'Call upon the rains and thunders' and in shikai form the katana transforms in a curved silver sword. He also knows how to control Bankai.**

**Omi - Captain of squad five with Momo Hinamori as his lieutenant. Because of his height he had a difficult time proving himself worthy for his rank but as ambitious as he is, he demonstrated everyone how powerful he truly is. His zanpakuto is Mizuhebi (means water serpent) and it has the form of a normal katana. Her command is 'Drown' and in shikai his sword becomes transparent like ice. He is still learning how to master Bankai.**

**Clay - He is the third seat of the third squad. Even if he had the chance to become a captain, he refused. His zanpakuto is a katana called Seishinnoki (means freshness). The command is 'Wreck havoc' and in his Shikai form, Seishinnoki transforms in an axe. Even thought he isn't captain or lieutenant he is capable to perform Bankai.**

**Now...on with the first chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The two teens rushed in the air, each one lost in their own thoughts. Soutaicho's words were still ringing in their heads, bringing a cloud of concern over their minds. Whatever Aizen planned with those four humans wasn't just a picnic and it was sure everything was meant to weakened or even destroy Soul Society. But with the Hogyoku and the power of his ten Espada, why would he even need some puny humans? What could they possibly offer him?

A frown took over Raimundo's features as his eyes sharpened in annoyance of all the questions running though his head. How much he would try, Rai couldn't found the right answer. At least there were two captains that Yamamoto-soutaicho sent to protect the humans. In the worst case, if an Espada attacked, the two of them could handle it.

His face softened thinking at his comrades, his long life best friends.

Clay, the big imposing cowboy, that was before and still was the muscles of their little 'team'. He was the third seat of the third squad and if you could believe it or not, he didn't give up at his beloved hat.

Then there was Omi. The bald monk remained the shortest one of them as he only grew inches since he well…died. But despite his high, Omi was quite respected in Seiretei just like the ice-like captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Omi was well known for his kind, golden heart, but was as well feared for his tremendous power that he still had to learn to control from his zanpakuto, Mizuhebi.

And lastly, the fiery captain of squad five, Kimiko. In all these years she didn't changed at all, spiritually speaking; she was the same hot-headed that he would go into a fight with. But physically, she was far more beautiful than before. She was more graceful and more powerful than before and to top it all, she learned how to control her temper and her own team. Still, Raimundo was the only one who could break through her walls and annoy the heck out of her as usual.

And about the ex-leader of the xiaolin team…he was the same carefree, lazy-bone as before and because of that he often got into arguments with his lieutenant, Hisagi Shuhei, over the paperwork.

"Raimundo!"

He has always thought they would still be friends, even after death…

"Rai!"

And it indeed happened…and he couldn't be happier than this…

"RAI!"

The brown haired boy blinked, snapping out of his thoughts and turned his head to glance at Kimiko, who was watching him curiously. "Yeah! What is it?"

The raven haired girl shook her head with a sigh. "Of course!...I asked how can we know for sure that Aizen is behind all of this?"

Raimundo shrugged. "We don't! But the old man was really worried, and I doubt hollows start popping out just for the sake of it!"

"Well…I can't say no to that! There must be something going on even if Aizen is involved or not!" the girl muttered flipping her phone opened. She smirked. "We're there!"

Raimundo did the same as his green eyes caught sight of the old, Chinese buildings of the temple. They both stopped in midair and watched the immensity of the Xiaolin temple, the joy and content obvious in their eyes.

"I hope Kurotsuchi's thing will work…!" muttered the brunet stretching his arms.

Kimiko nodded, her hand drawn to the still sore spot on her arm. "I hate being the guinea pig!"

**-Bleach-**

"Han, gather your chi, focus your energy and visualize your objective!" spoke the master watching his student knitting his eyebrows in concentration. In the next second, a flame bursts in his palm flickering in the soft wind blowing around.

The raven haired boy snapped his eyes open, smiling brightly as the flame engulfed his fist before throwing it on the other side of the field, hitting the dummy straight in the chest. "Ha! I did it!"

"Great job, fire boy! I'm impressed you didn't burned down the temple!"

Han's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Che…Shut _up_, Kass! Or ya want this on your ass?"

The girl smirked, swiftly stepping behind him. "Did you just threatened my ass, mate?"

They shared ten seconds of sending each other death glares, before Master Ren cleared his throat. "Ok kids! I don't want to hear your argument so could you please step back and let Joseph and Suna practice as well?"

Han let the fire to go out and left sparing one last glare at Kass who stuck her tongue out in return. From behind their teacher stepped other two kids, a blond boy with brown eyes and a red haired girl with blue eyes.

Joseph walked forward on the training ground with Suna trailing behind him. He lowered his gaze, frowning as he cracked his knuckles. "Would you please step back, Suna?" he asked kindly earning a nod from the girl.

He bent his knees and swiftly thrusted his arms ahead. "Steel Cage, Metal!" Along with his move, huge gray spikes rose from the ground in a circle around the dummy closing it between them.

"Woohoo! Way to go, handsome!" yelled Kassie clapping, making Han roll his eyes.

"Very well doen, Joseph! Suna, you're up next!" said Master Ren with a gentle smile.

The girl stepped forward, letting out a long breath. "Ok! Here I go!" She took a stance in front of the training doll and quickly clasped her hands. "Hypersonic Wave, Sound!" the clap sent tremendous sound waves in the air that made everyone cover their ears while the wall behind the doll suddenly fell apart and on top of it.

She smiled turning around for her master's verdict. He nodded shortly. "It is very good, although you need to aim your chi on the target and not let it spread around you."

The two moved back beside Han and Kassie as Master Ren declared the end of the training session. The four teens turned to their usual activities as the master left, picking up Dojo as he passed by the window sill. The dragon jerked up, looking sleepily over the training fields. "Wha'? is the training already done?"

"Yes Dojo!" he started to walk inside when he was stopped by a monk.

'Master Ren, some people came here and requested to see you!"

"Thank you, Master Lei!" they bowed and the master went toward the entrance with Dojo standing on his shoulder.

There at the entrance stood a girl and a boy, older than his students, but still very young in his opinion wearing some black clothes with a white robe over them and caring…were those swords? Dojo gasped gaining the man's attention but before he could ask something, the little dragon ran up to them, transformed in his huge size and pulled them in a deathly hug.

"Dojo, let go!"

"Come on, dude! I think I heard a snap!"

"Sorry…but is so good to see you!" reasoned the dragon almost spilling tears.

Master Ren watched curiously the exchange and cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Dojo, do you know them?"

Dojo shrunk back, crawling on the green eyed teen's shoulder, his mood clearly in the ninth heaven. "Well…um, yes! I know them!" he glanced secretly at the two and at their nod he continued on a lighter tone. "Actually, I've met them one hundred years ago! It's quite a story."

"That's right! We would better explain inside, away from curious eyes!" spoke the girl strongly.

"Anyway…I'm Raimundo and the pretty girl is Kimiko! You are Master Ren, right?" The monk nodded at the brunet and motioned for them to follow him.

"Pretty girl?" Kimiko cocked her eyebrow in a way Raimundo usually did around her, earning a small smile from the boy.

"What? Can't I say how beautiful I think my girlfriend is?"

Dojo 'ahem'-ed at them before Kimiko had the chance to land a quick kiss or even embrace her boyfriend. "I know this is a lovey-dovey moment but can't you wait for later?"

Raimundo grunted in response while the girl rolled her eyes. They didn't had time to say anything else though because they entered a room and sat at the table.

"So…" began the monk. "What is going on?"

The two straightened up suddenly becoming serious. "You see, we were Xiaolin Dragons one hundred years ago and we risked our lives in order to save the world. We died and became shinigami, spirits that help other souls pass on. We are currently on a mission and we need your assistance. We believe your students are in danger."

The man nodded calmly. "I sensed a strange aura gathering around the temple in the last few days. And at their current levels, my students are not ready to fight the entity behind it." he turned to look at them, laying his gaze on each one of them. "If what you say is true, then I guess you're here to protect them."

They answered with a yes and Master Ren got up. "Well, with that being said, I'll tell someone to prepare two rooms for you, while I'll go to announce the dragons about this."

"Um…could you please skip the part of us being dead?" asked Kimiko rubbing her neck. "We don't want to scare them."

The old monk left the room followed by Dojo who turned to give them a knowing look before he disappeared behind the door and leaving the two alone.

"So…where were we?" Rai said quietly.

Kimiko smiled leaning forward for a kiss that Rai gladly accepted, brushing his hand on her small neck while hers wrapped around his neck pulling him closer.

"We're not off duty, remember?" brought up the girl looking him in the eyes.

Raimundo on the other side smirked. "We're not in Seiretei anymore! Just relax, Kimi!"

"I am!" she came again with another kiss and so they continue until a spark of reiatsu appeared in the forest making them both groan in frustration.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Master Ren walked outside, watching for a second as his students played carelessly in the garden. Seeing his approach, Joseph jumped down off the tree followed by Suna, Han and Kass standing up (some with groans) and walking up to him. They stood lined up in front of him waiting for their teacher to speak. Dojo crawled on the man's shoulder looking happier than usual and that itself raised some question in their heads.

"I don't know how I should…classified these news so I'll tell you directly. A few days ago, I've sensed something, a very strong energy that I'm afraid will give you a hard time in the future. In that case, we're going to have some new allies that will aid you in fighting this evil.!"

"Is that why Dojo is so hyper?" asked Kass eyeing the green dragon.

"Oh yeah! It's gonna be like old times!" he mumbles looking like he was reliving some old memories, which truthfully he was. "Okay! Guys, could you come out for a sec?" Silence. "Um…guys?"

The answer was what they least expected. A screeching noise filled the sky, paralyzing everyone with their chilling air. Master Ren quickly turned around in time to see the opposite wall smashed by someone thrown in it.

The figure slid out of the cloud of dust, crouching down as he did. He swiftly raised his arm, his palm facing whatever was on the other side, his lips moving as the incantation slipped out. A beam of crimson light exploded from his hand soaring through the air, and cutting the debris in half as it approached the thing.

The creature he was fighting had blue skin, boney arms and legs and a white mask with only two slits revealing its empty yellow eyes. The thing vanished avoiding the attack and appeared in the air, ready to come down with its fist while letting out another shriek. It started to form a red ball in front of where its mouth was supposed to be but it hadn't the time to launch it as he was suddenly sliced in four by a girl that gracefully landed beside the boy, holding two swords.

"Did you call, gecko?" asked the brown haired boy turning around with a cocky grin. Dojo fumed while the girl shook her head and sheathed her sword, putting them back on her lower back.

"Sorry for the wall! The girl said. "We wanted to lure it in the forest but it didn't seem to agree with it!" she shrugged.

Silence passed over their heads, while the four dragons stared wide eyed opened at them. It was starting to be uncomfortable and Rai was on the verge on yelling something when Han asked out of the blue.

"So…what _was_ that thing?"

Master Ren let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. "That was the source of the energy I've felt lately. Though, I'm afraid there are more of them!"

They nodded when a clasp startled everyone. Turning around, they saw Raimundo smiling brightly. "With this interesting meeting why don't we go inside and discuss everything over a cup of tea…y'know, it works well when we're gonna talk about creatures that want to kill you!"

"HUH?"

"Just details, details!" he waved nonchalantly still grinning carelessly when the girl's fist suddenly connected with his head throwing him on the ground.

"Ow! Did I tell ya how hard you hit?"

"You've had worse!"

And so, with that amazingly entertaining conversation, the group walked inside ready to find out more about what was going on and who were those guys.

* * *

**Please...I really need your opinion about this! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've gave it some thought and decided to let the story in the Xiaolin Showdown category and not put it as a crossover since the Bleach characters won't make an appearance. The plot focused on the characters from XS and that includes the good ones and the bad ones. I was thinking of showing how this hatred between Xiaolin and Heylin keeps going even in the afterlife. Oh…and I forgot to clarify some terms in the last chapter:**

**Soutaicho – Head-Captain**

**Taicho – Captain**

**Shinigami – Soul Reaper**

**Zanpakuto - their swords…um soul-cutter, I think!**

**Seiretei – the place where shinigami live**

**Reiatsu – Spiritual Pressure**

**Espada and Arrancar – really strong hollows**

**I think that's all and if you find anything confusing, you are welcome to ask. And thanks for the warming reviews guys!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Back inside, Master Ren, Raimundo, Kimiko and Dojo explained the four xiaolin dragons their situation, the two shinigami not forgetting to mention about the Arrancar and how powerful they can be (not that it was the same for them). Still, they didn't say anything about Aizen, Soul Society or what they truly were, keeping all that information secret for their own safety (and heads). When they were done, the apprentices stared incredulously at them.

"So…those things are after us?" asked slowly Kass. "Why?"

The two shinigami shrugged and Kimiko answered. "We don't know for sure, but what we know is that you cannot fight them without proper aid."

"Yep! And where we come from we are of the best!" added Raimundo.

Joseph arched an eyebrow, his brown eyes shining in curiosity. "Where exactly are you coming from?"

"…"

"Who wants some more tea?"

**-Bleach-**

After the talk the dragons went back on hanging out in the garden this time with Kimiko while Raimundo went to take a nap on the roof.

"How can he stay there?" wondered aloud Suna as she looked up from her game with Kimiko.

The raven haired girl shrugged indifferently, her eyes clearly concentrating on her next move. "He kinda lived there, so don't worry! He's used to it!"

Suna blinked and nodded hesitantly. "If you say so…" Silence "Check Mate!"

"Oh! Damn it! I hate this game!"

The red haired girl chuckled watching as Kimiko held her fist from breaking the table. "I can understand why!"

"Yeah! Rai always beats me at it!"

Suna frowned confused, glancing shortly at the brunet sitting on the roof. "Really? He doesn't strike me as the brainy type!"

Kimiko smirked thinking at the old times. "He! Believe me, he is quite smart and tricky when he want to! Mainly the opponent you don't want to meet!"

"Really?" the two girls turned their heads watching as Han came closer holding eating an apple. "That's…something!"

The red haired girl sighed. "Han come on! Tell me you're not thinking at something stupid like going and challenging him!" Kimiko masked the laugh as a sudden fit of coughs before she stood up.

Han looked at her asking curiously. "Where are ya going?"

"Girls' own business!" she smirked at the boy's growing red face and went back inside right when Master Ren came out to begin the usual evening session of training. With many groans the four xiaolin dragons stood up and started to practice their elemental moves and martial arts.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

CLANG! CLANK! CLANG!

CLANG!

"Is something bothering you?"

Raimundo frowned, his hand holding firmly the hilt of the sword as he pushed forward against his opponent's. He closed his eyes and swiftly shunpo-ed behind him and up in the air. With a yell, he brought the blade down and sparkles flew in the air as the two sword collide.

The other figure smiled over his shoulder, his white eyes full of understanding as they laid on him. "You know you can tell me!"

Raimundo replied with the same smile as he landed on his feet sheathing back his sword. "Sometimes, I can't believe you're a part of me Teikiatsu!"

"The opposites attract each other, right?"

The shinigami sighed sitting on the edge of the rock watching the swirls of thick air passing beneath him. He sensed the zanpakuto sitting beside him and took a glance at the blind spirit. His messy long gray hair was wavering in the soft wind as his eyes bored forward. Raimundo felt sorry that his companion wasn't able to see how beautiful his inner world was.

There was the endless sky and the sun always at the horizon with the moon on the other side like they both wanted to come and rule the sky, but being somehow stopped…frozen in time. The lights were amazing, spread through the puffy clouds and coloring the massive pieces of rocks soaring in the divided heavens. The pillars were covered with grass but only the biggest one, the one they were standing on, had an amazing willow tree, symbol of death and rebirth. The brown haired boy let out another breath that seemed to catch the attention of Teikiatsu.

"So…are you going to spill it over or what!"

Raimundo chuckled lying on his back on the delicate grass with his hands behind his neck. "We both clearly aren't that patient!"

Teikiatsu sighed sitting up. His long white sleeveless vest moved with the wind as his gloved hands were drawn to its pockets. He turned around and walked to the willow passing by Raimundo without sparring him a glance (not that he could).

"I have a bad feeling!" the zanpakuto stopped in his tracks waiting for his master to continue. "This is gonna turn bad somehow!"

"I believe so too!" the gray haired boy added without turning. He heard Raimundo getting up but didn't make any move.

"Then we would better be prepared."

Teikiatsu smirked swiftly pulling out the katana and turned in time to block Raimundo. They shunpo-ed in the air gracefully stopping each other's hits as they moved at an amazing speed between the stone columns.

**-Bleach-**

"Rai!"

"Huh?" Raimundo opened his eyes and saw Kimiko standing over him raising an eyebrow. He frowned in response. "I was kinda busy, girl!"

"I realized that! You didn't answered the first ten calls!" the girl lounged beside him on the roof her ocean blue eyes staring at the blackness of the sky. "The dinner was over like two hours ago. Aren't you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it…I am!" they smiled at each other and then jumped off the building and made their way in the kitchen. "So…What do you think of those four?"

The girl tilted her head, her blue eyes looking deep in though. "I think they're…nice for starter!"

Rai hmph-ed at her when they entered the deserted kitchen. The light of the moon casted drops of silvery light on the floor while the rest of it was thrown into darkness. Without turning off the lights, Rai went to the fridge and quickly got out something for both of them. They sat at the table the silence still on their heads until Kimiko decided to break it.

"What did you talk with your zanpakuto?"

"Just some bad feelings!"

Kimiko nodded. "You know…Hayame told me as well that something is going to happen."

The brown haired boy grinned at her. "If that's true then we'll deal with whatever is coming when it's gonna come."

"Yeah…but I still wonder why the hollows won't attack! I mean there must be dozens of them around. What are they waiting for?"

Raimundo only shrugged but didn't voiced his opinion. They continued to eat and when they finished they sat up going back to their room.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

In the dragons' cubicles the four warriors were up and talking about the day's events. Suna and Kass were standing next to each other trying not to fall asleep while Han was leaning on the wall and Joseph was standing cross legged with his arms folded over his chest.

"I still think is something weird with them!"

Han glanced at the blond next to him before answering. "I know man! When I was around that chick I felt like I could be crushed in a second at any wrong move."

"That's whatcha get if ya go on a girl's bad side dumbass!" Kass continued to rub her eyes ignoring the fact that Joseph was holding Han from jumping on her.

"I didn't mean it like that! It was different…something like I-can't-describe-it different!"

Suna stifled a yawn as she leaned more comfortable on Kass' shoulder. "Ok! So it is something about those two but how can we find out? I mean, we can't just go and ask them!"

Joseph let go of his friend's arm and took his position again. "That's why it exists a library!"

"Aw…come one handsome! Those ancient things?" groaned the girl sleepily.

"Yes! There are many things that Master Ren didn't want us to know yet so I don't see anything bad in taking a look!...and stop calling me that Kass!"

Han sighed leaning his head on the wall. "When can we do that? In case you haven't notice you don't really have free time and those two are here to protect us! Wouldn't they notice if we go all mysterious all of the sudden?"

Suna suddenly sat up startling the three and leaned forward talking in a whisper. "Do you think they're listening to us? If they said they have to protect us shouldn't they be keeping an eye on us non-stop?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"ARE YOU CRAZY GIRL! THAT'S CALLED STALKING!"

"I WAS JUST SAYING! YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!"

The two boys sweat dropped at the two girls and decided to leave the room and go back to sleep. "_If_ we can sleep with this!"

"Uh-uh!"

**-Bleach-**

"That's good child! Keep it up!" the raspy voice of a woman echoed in the immensity of the modern basement as the girl standing in the middle of the room frowned trying to call upon her inner powers. A ball of swirling neon green fire appeared in her cupped hands and she let out a sigh of joy while her rose lips curled in a smile and her eyes opened revealing two deep teal orbs.

The fire blazed in her eyes shedding jade light on her pale skin and blowing the crimson locks of hair out of her face. In a swift move she threw the ball on the other side of the metal room creating a scorched dent in the wall.

"That was very good my student!" From behind her came a purple mass of translucent substance that easily formed in a small body like octopus with a red, black and white mask and big yellow eyes. "I'm proud of you child!"

The girl smirked swishing her hand through the air as a green aura followed her movements. "The next time they won't be so lucky! I'll get you the wu, Lady Wuya!"

* * *

**And this is the second chapter! The next one will have some action I promise! I didn't want to put it in this one because I thought I will hurry the action. And I really liked the whole Zanpakuto ark so I've decided to use a little bit the gang's spirit blades. I like the idea of going in their inner world and have a little chat with the resident spirit, or training, is the same for me…**

**Anyway, until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay...I was caught up in other things! Mainly because school starts tomorrow and I don't wanna! Those holydays are sooo short! Anyway...here the action is starting and I think...well, I hope this story is not gonna be long!**

**Have a pleasant reading!**

* * *

Chapter 3

"Call upon the rains and thunders Teikiatsu!" the katana shone in a white light before the blade curved, taking a silvery color and the guard extended with two black metal tails over Rai's hand. He swished the blade in the air easily slashing through the weak hollows around him or sent wind blades that sliced through their masks from a fair distance.

Beneath him, Kim was leaping from tree to tree driving her kodachi swords through the hollows that appeared in her way. She jumped in the air her shinigami uniform blowing in the wind made from her descend. "Burn them to bone Hayame!"

The edges of the short swords were engulfed in brilliant red flames that made them look longer and the female taicho used that to sent waves of fire at the unprepared specters.

In less than two minutes the whole area was clean of hollows so the two shinigami decided to return to the temple. As they came closer the small rays of the sun became known over the valleys between the mountains where the xiaolin temple was located. When they arrived they saw Dojo waiting impatiently outside and tapping his claws over the shen-gong-wu scroll.

"Hey gecko!"

The dragon was startled at first by their sudden appearance but seemed to compose himself as he answered. "Morning guys! A shen-gong-wu just went on. The Ruby of Ramses!"

Just then the four teens came out of the temple dressed normally and climbed on the enlarged dragon. Dojo turned to them confused. "Um…are you going to come!"

"Of course we will! But go ahead!" answered the raven haired girl. Raimundo nodded and they both walked inside.

Dojo shrugged and took off in the skies. The morning air was refreshing to his scales and at the same time it woke up the sleepy teenagers on his back. "So…the wu we're after is called the Ruby of Ramses." He began giving the scroll to Kass. "It has the power to move objects, something like telekinesis only it doesn't give you headaches."

"It sounds cool!" spoke Han looking over the girl's shoulder.

Kass on the other hand sulked annoyed. "That isn't cool! When are the blasting stuff gonna appear?"

The dragon rolled his eyes and concentrated on flying listening to bits of the kids' conversation. As he expected they were talking about how Raimundo and Kimiko were going to know where they were. Dojo was silently asking himself the same thing but he wasn't worried somewhat. If he learned something from being around them it was to never underestimate them!

The place he landed in was the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. Taking care to not provoke a public crisis (even though outside weren't that many people considering it was still dark), Dojo descended in a more private area before hiding in Joseph's anorak. As they walked in the city, Dojo pointed to them to always go toward the sea. They finally arrived in the harbor and were surprised to see the two shinigami changed from their black and white robes and leaning on the railing watching the waves breaking in the rocks.

"What took you so long?" whined the brown haired boy turning around with a scowl.

"Come on Rai! Don't blame Dojo…it's not his fault he gained some weight this years!" the two chuckled making the small dragon fume in annoyance, and that therefore made the other four laugh at him.

"Haha…very funny! Can we please get back to finding the wu before Wuya and her girl come?" Raimundo and Kimiko suddenly stopped laughing and look at the dragon quizzically.

"Did you say Wuya?" Dojo jumped on the railing facing the two and nodded.

"We're gonna go and search for the wu!" said Suna to them before taking off with her teammates leaving the three alone in the dimly lit sidewalk.

"Yeah…she appeared again, released by a girl, Miwa!"

"But how could she release her? I thought the orb was indestructible!" asked Kimiko.

Dojo stared at the sea sighing. "The orb **is** indestructible! But we didn't calculated a vital factor."

The two glanced at him confused and with a hint of concern in their eyes waiting for his answer. "That girl who set her free is also a heylin witch!"

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

The four climbed down to the rocks looking between the gaps flanked by the big stones and getting soaked by the salted water of the sea, thing that the girls complained from the start. So far they didn't find anything and neither Wuya and Miwa appeared, but that wasn't going to last for too long.

On the clean surface of the sea, a small dot started to appear coming nearer and nearer at an impressive speed. Soon the roar of an engine filled the air drawing the attention of the four monks and the two shinigami. When it came closer a girl suddenly leaped from the vehicle and gracefully landed on a rock in front of the gang.

She had crimson red hair tied in a bun with a few strands falling in her gorgeous teal eyes and she wore a plain black tank top, tattered gray jeans and red boots. She smiled superiorly at them just as Wuya came from behind her.

"Great! Who called the circus clowns?" Kass smirked over her shoulder at the Chinese boy and then she leaped forward in a flying kick.

Miwa rolled her eyes and easily sidestepped letting the girl land beside her before she gently pushed her making the raven haired girl fall in the water with a splash. The red haired witch dropped down evading Suna's kick, tripping her instead and rolled out of the way jumping on the rocks until she was face to face with the boys.

"No pass girl!" smiled Han confidently. His smile though fell down in a frown as Miwa's hand started to glow green. She swiftly hopped backwards letting the two blast of energy go and head toward the two dragons.

Joseph pushed Han down and ducked the attack by jumping in a gap between the rocks. As the dragons struggled to get up Miwa already saw the ruby and headed to it.

"There's no way I'll let you get it!" yelled an outrageous Kassie jumping out of the water. In flash of yellow sparkles she was in front of Miwa and they both lunged forward to the wu. "I challenge you to a showdown. My Golden Finger against your Moby Morpher. The game is escape from the ice cave!"

"Very well! Let's go!"

"XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"

"God…I miss those words!" From the sidewalk Raimundo, Kimiko and Dojo watched what was going on beneath. The wu shone until it engulfed all of them disrupting the reality and creating the battlefield. The temperature dropped dramatically until their breaths came out in puffy white vapors. The area was frozen, buried in a thick layer of white-bluish frost and a road formed on the sea with spikes of ice flanking it on both sides. Over the thorns was shaped an arched ceiling thinner this time to reveal the small rays of the appearing Sun. Kass and Miwa were standing on the far away side ready to begin as they yelled aloud the starting line.

"GONG YI TANPAI!"

And there they went! Shoulder to shoulder, skating on the slippery ice, concentrated looks glued on their faces. Rai and Kim were standing a little ways further from the encouraging gang on a piece of ice that somehow resembled a bench and hugging each other to keep themselves warm.

"I think I bet on the new hot chick!"

"Y'know you're hugging your own girlfriend right?"

Rai chuckled looking down at her. "Come on Kimi! You're ten times hotter!"

"That's better!" she leaned for a kiss and they both shared a few seconds warming their cold lips.

Meanwhile, in the showdown Kass was in the lead smirking from ear to ear. She looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened when realizing Miwa wasn't there. "Kass above you!" the girl quickly averted her gray eyes to look at the ceiling and true to her teammates, the heylin witch was running on the thin layer of ice that formed the arched top.

As she stepped on it, the vibrations were carried away and soon enough the ceiling collapsed beneath her feet. Miwa grinned watching from the corner of her eye as the shards of ice fell in front of Kass blocking her path. The red haired witch landed in a crouch and quickly took off when a yell caught her ears.

"Golden Finger!"

Kass sighed in relief watching the ice stop in midair and fixed her narrowed eyes on the small form of her opponent. Yellow sparks flew on her body and she suddenly vanished, appearing behind Miwa in a full run. "You can't outrun my lightning step!"

**-Bleach-**

"Lightning Step…isn't that shunpo?" asked Raimundo frowning.

"I don't think so! But is similar...and quite impressive!" replied Kimiko watching interested the race. "though...I don't think she can do it one more time!"

"It has to be exhausting!"

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

"Damn it!" Miwa flung a green ball at Kass that the girl barely dodged. The heylin girl noticed with a smirk the tired condition of her opponent and out of the blue she turned around tossing her raised leg in her stomach. The move took Kass by surprise and she could only look as the kick caught her and sent her backwards. The force of the attack also unbalanced Miwa but she quickly recovered closing the distance left to the finish line in small elegant steps.

The three groaned and in a flash of bright light the battlefield returned to the harbor of Copenhagen. The sun was up already and the people started doing their own things around the city, some of them glancing curiously at the kids jumping soaked wet on the sidewalk.

Miwa was in her boat with Wuya congratulating her as she drove away so the monks walked to a more empty place so they could climb on Dojo. This time Rai and Kim got on the dragon as well staying quiet as to not disrupt the tension between the four. They soon regretted it when the yelling began.

**-Bleach-**

After they got down the team split up, each of the dragons going to do their own chores or to eat. Left alone in the garden the two shinigami and Dojo decided to relax under a tree.

"That really reminds me of you!" said dryly the dragon scratching his belly.

Raimundo nodded half asleep while Kimiko just hm-ed from her place on the boy's shoulder. "At least I was the only girl. Clay was a pacifist, Omi had no idea what we were talking about so the only one I could argue with was Rai!"

"But you had a mouth big enough for those two!" muttered the brunet cracking an eye open to see the girl's amused frown.

"Shut up!...Say Rai…who's gonna go and give the report?"

"I want to stay here!" he glanced at the snoring dragon and then back at his girlfriend.

"Did you finish your paperwork?"

"That's why I don't want to go! Hisagi is gonna have my head on a silver plate if he sees me!"

Kimiko chuckled. "True!...so you're going!"

"Aw…come on girl!" Kimiko looked him in the eye and lightly placed a kiss on his lips. "One more time and I'm off!" she rolled her sapphire eyes but granted his wish nonetheless.

Raimundo stood up stretching his arms. "Blame yourself if I'm not the one that's gonna come back!" in a second he was gone so Kimiko leaned on the tree and closed her eyes with a smile.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

The two figures walked through the huge black halls approaching the gate on the other side. The white doors loomed over them before slowly creaked open and the two entered the chamber facing the throne in the middle and the black cloaked creature standing on it his gaze lingering on the black sky adorned with white moon. They swiftly fell on their knees just as their master tilted his head to look at them. His yellow eyes analyzed them for a few seconds before speaking in a low tone, each word slightly amplified by the silence reigning in the vast chamber.

"Take how many hollows you want and go in the human world! Bring them here…alive!"

The two Arrancar nodded and suddenly disappeared with a static sound leaving the figure alone in the room. He leaned back in his throne crossing his bony ashen fingers and chuckled lightly.

**-Bleach-**

The Senkaimon slowly closed behind Raimundo leaving the glade in darkness again. He took a few steps, his green eyes searching the place he was dropped in. It was a thick forest with crazy big trees that almost covered with their branches the blueness of the night's sky.

He sighed scratching his head in frustration as his eyes closed in a frown. "Geez…couldn't they let me in a more closer area? I have absolutely no idea where – "

Rai let his words flew in the wind and he carefully raised his head trying to find the source of the sudden spiritual pressure. "Che! Right what I needed!"

The wind softly blew through the leaves adding to the ominous feeling he was having shivers on his back. His hands slowly clenched over the hilt of his zanpakuto as he materialized from thin air. The silence around him was disturbing, but he kept his guard up, analyzing with his eyes every corner of the future battlefield.

"What's the matter? Can't you see me?" the voice penetrated the calmness of the glade cutting like a knife through the tense air. It had a deep, threatening edge even though it seemed to be having fun.

Raimundo wasn't pleased at all on the other hand. "Why don't cha come out and get over this quickly! I'm not quit in the mood for a fight!"

The hollow chuckled darkly, making the shinigami tense and fall in a crouch, Teikiatsu firmly positioned in front of him. "Fine then!"

In a flash of white, the two swords clashed sending small red flickers in the air as they did. Raimundo scowled at the Arrancar smirking like a mad man down at him. He was quite young, explaining his over joyful reactions and impatience. He had short spiky black hair combed back with three strands falling in his aqua eyes. He wore only a red vest with long sleeves and black loose pants. Around his waist was a black belt that held a sheath that belonged to the katana in his hand and right in the middle of his chest was the specific hollow hole. Fragments of his mask were on top of his head right where the three locks of hair fell in his face and continued on the right side of his face reaching his jaw.

"Name's Roo Cuervo, Shinigami!"

Rai's frown deepened his hand firmly gripping his zanpakuto and pushing it forward against Roo's katana. "Did Aizen send you?"

"Aizen? Don't make me laugh! I'm solo Shinigami!" green eyes narrowed at him in disbelief but the hollow didn't seem to acknowledge it or he simply didn't care.

"Then why are you here?"

Roo tilted his head to his side, the smirk still playing on his lips as he answered nonchalantly. "I only want to kill you, Shinigami!"

"Like it's gonna be that easy!" Raimundo snapped back taking notice of the smile curling on his own lips. _'It was time to have a little fun, ne?'_

With a small growl Rai pushed his sword forward surprising Roo who was thrown backwards. His eyes widened for a second before narrowing as he swung his sword down blocking Raimundo's blade. The two clashed, the sound of metal brushing on metal reverberating in the glade as the Arrancar jumped in the fray beginning a series of attacks against the Shinigami.

Raimundo easily blocked all of them taking a few steps back when he swiftly dropped down, Roo's katana sweeping past his head and came in return with a slash to his side. The black hair hollow vanished from sight and Raimundo further narrowed his eyes. His sword flew in the air shielding his back as it collided with Roo's and everything went silent when their eyes met.

"Hmph! Not bad!"

"I could say the same for you! It's been a while since I last fought and I have to say I'm kinda excited!"

Roo tilted his head in amusement. "Really? So…there's no way you'll abandon this fight?"

The question seem quite simple though he couldn't put his finger on it, it was hiding something. And that something wasn't good!

"What do you mean?"

Roo's grin widened and it seemed to grow when a sudden explosion filled the air around the forest. It abruptly dawned on Rai what was happening and what that explosion actually was. He gritted his teeth sliding backwards before shunpoing in a tree for a better view.

There, in the distance with columns of black smoke raising and covering it entirely was the temple, around it waves of hollows and if he could concentrate, he could feel the presence of another Arrancar. He let out a few curses as his grip tightened on Teikiatsu's hilt and leaped forward just as the Roo appeared holding a red ball of reiatsu in his hand and grinning maliciously.

"Cero!"

* * *

**Haha...cliffhanger! But let's get over that! I wanted you to help me with something! If it's not too much from you i would like to hear opinions of how the gang's bankai would look like...mainly Omi and Clay because I didn't think of them at all. I've decided upon Kimiko's but ideas are welcomed and Rai...I've thought on something actually.**

**Anyhow, it would be great to hear your ideas because it would very much help me...if you let me use them, of course!**

**Till next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so amazed but how much inspiration and stamina Rammstein could give me. They are an extraordinary band…the first rock band I've ever liked beside the Japanese ones that my friends think so low of (they've never listen to them, not even watched anime…by that I mean the girl, I'm not sure about the boys). Anyhow, their music helped me get over some problems and I would like to say I had no difficulty in writing this chapter. It actually gave me fluency and I didn't go over and over again with the fragments and sentences.**

**Yay for Rammstein!**

**Now before you start reading I have to warn you they are some not nice words used in this chapter but hey…the situation asks for it! They are translated at the bottom! I used both Japanese and Chinese because of the nationality of my characters.**

**Have a pleasant reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

A scream accompanied another explosion as the ground was literally split in halves by the destructive cero of the hollows. As soon as the assault started, most of the monks were evacuated, on the battlefield being Master Ren, Dojo, Kimiko and the xiaolin dragons.

The four apprentices tried their best to push back the hollows but their powers didn't seem to affect the masked creatures too much. Kimiko, however, was the most called upon. She swiftly moved between her opponents in a deadly dance, the flickers of her flaming blades casting cold lights and shadows to play on her blank face.

Her hands firmly hold the hilts of the two short swords and her form was gracefully moving, leaping in the air before coming down the blades slashing through the hollows like they were made of water.

Delivering a final horizontal cut that disintegrated another specter, the black haired female turned on her heels blocking with her other hand a claw aimed at her head. The metal slowly sliced through the bony hand earning an intensifying hiss of pain from the hollow before Kimiko end it by slashing through the beast's side. It vanished in a cloud of black particles but the girl was already up in the sky and cutting the air with waves of merciless golden flames.

She frowned more determined watching the terrified shrieks the creatures let out before disappearing and that only fueled her wish to fight and kill the ones who dared to attack the temple. Making way through the army of weak hollows, Kimiko finally reached the figure standing bored and surveying the area.

It was a tanned man wearing a sleeveless red coat with white pants and short sleeved undershirt. His dark blue hair was waist long and braided swiping in the wind like a sharp lash. His eyes were empty pits of blackness and the ashen masked adorned his left side of his face from under his eye to his strong jawbone. It was colored with two cobalt strips that seemingly would have gone over his nose if it wasn't the fact that it was broken. The left side of his face was partially covered by long dark blue bangs letting only one deep black eye to stare at her in that creepy way.

"Shinigami…"

Her grip tightened but her face didn't show any emotion. "Who are you, Arrancar?"

"My name is Auzric Esryn!" he tilted his head in a what should have been a playful manner if it wasn't for the fact he seemed so stiff and unfriendly. "What's your name?"

"None of your business!" she spat her temper raising at his indifference of the damage he was causing. "You're not with Aizen, aren't you?"

Auzric cocked his eyebrow and a sneer spread on his face half of it almost covered by the remnants of the mask. "Iie…I'm not with Aizen…the stars showed me another path!"

Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously and she gritted her teeth snarling at him. "Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"Can't tell you that!"

"Bastard!" the word left from her now calm face in a whisper but Auzric heard it very well.

He smirked, reaching in the folds of his robe while Kimiko tense at his movements. She shunpo-ed in front of him, a safe distance between them and steadied her weapons facing him. With her thin brows knitted in a grave frown and her cerulean eyes never leaving his tall form, the female taicho easily fell in a battle stance the roaring wind increasing the fire on her blades.

On the other side of the field, the man retrieved what he was looking for, raising the weapon above his head to glint in the otherworldly moonlight. It was a small dagger, the tip slightly undulating reminding Kimiko of a predatory snake. The hilt was made from what seemed like silver, the guard a two pointed oval with crystalline stones on top of them.

"Ready to meet your destiny…woman?"

And he was gone in the blink of an eye.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

_There, in the distance with columns of black smoke raising and covering it entirely was the temple, around it waves of hollows and if he could concentrate, he could feel the presence of another Arrancar. He let out a few curses as his grip tightened on Teikiatsu's hilt and leaped forward just as Roo appeared holding a red ball of reiatsu in his hand and grinning maliciously. _

"_Cero!"_

The explosion shook the ground and the trees were lit on fire the area becoming an inferno of dancing flames. Rai jumped in the air above the cloud of smoke and flying branches his green gaze searching for Roo while keeping an eye on the temple.

He caught a glimpse of his red attire in time to avoid a slash at his side leaping back and bringing his sword in front of him. He skidded to a halt and stayed glaring at him before disappearing with Roo doing the same minus the glaring part.

The two blades clashed in the air in a blur lightened by the pale silvery rays of the moon. One was white, the other was red but both had the wish to kill the other. The hits were strong and fast the sound of the clanks echoing in the air in resonance with the cracks of the fire.

Rai landed on a tree branch further from the place where they have started fighting and used it to propel himself in the air delivering an arched diagonal slice. Roo blocked it gritting his teeth as he was pushed back before coming with a slash of his own. They separated with the black haired Arrancar forming a cero in his arm and Rai a hado.

The two attacks collided with an explosion and dust sent in the air. Roo vanished from his place coming from beneath. Rai frowned stepping backwards and went to stop the blow but he was thrown away and Roo's sword cleanly cut his right forearm.

"You're so going down hollow! Call upon the rains and thunders Teikiatsu!" the blade shone and curved taking a silver color. Rai swung Teikiatsu in a way the tip pointed obliquely to the ground. "_Shiwase no Kaze!_"

Roo felt the air shifting around him and he took a defensive stance but the attack came from a different direction than he expected. Rai smirked motioning with his head to look down. The Arrancar glanced beneath him and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets at the sight of the flames created by his cero swirling in a whirlwind.

"_Sakeme!_" Rai swished the blade in the air until it was horizontally positioned with his arm.

Roo gasped when the burning cyclone rose from the ground engulfing him in a spin of blurred golden and red colors, the heat slowly eating through his skin and his screams nullified by the roaring of the fire.

After a whole minute of watching his opponent struggle with the agonizing pain, the shinigami release the wind controlling the fire and let it snuff out. In the middle, Roo was still standing, breathing hard with his skin badly burned and his clothes tattered.

"Che…that wasn…wasn't bad…" His hand shakily lifted his sword and Rai noticed the smile on his lips. "Reach for…Reach for the Greater…Ala!"

Rai frowned as the red reiatsu was let out of the blade and engulfed the Arrancar until he was out of sight and only his increasing laughter was heard.

"Damn it!" he swore just as two black bony wings shot out of the swirling reiatsu before the whole body of the hollow emerged. Roo's mask extended framing his face and his hair grew longer reaching his back. His chest was completely covered in the same white substance the mask was made of but it changed to black as the wings grew. His legs, from knee to toes were made like talons and his hands also had sharp claws at the extremeties.

He smiled letting his spiritual pressure to leak resulting in a red aura surrounding his body and stare Rai in his eyes. "Naa…let's begin now!"

**-Bleach-**

Suna grunted in pain flipping away from a falling limb and spun around in time to catch a glimpse of a flying spiked tail directed at her. Her blue eyes widened in surprise and she quickly ducked low with a small gasp. A hiss escaped her lips and her hand slipped on the bleeding cut on her right side.

At the same time, the same tail came swishing back, forcing the girl to step away again. Suna breathed heavily as she jumped out of the way, the tail hitting the ground where she stood, but the force of the impact was strong enough to unbalance her. She fell on her back, the collision sending other sparks of pain while her hair fell in a messy tangle of red around her head.

"_Chikusho!"_

She painfully took in some air, dismissing the dizziness swirling in her head and forced her eyes to open at the sight of the gruesome hollow leaning in to grab her frail body. Before she could utter a cry for help the claw was ripped out of the way by a pole of silvery metal. The hollow roared, its yellow eyes searching for the responsible.

"Get the _hell_ away from her!"

And then it came again. Another spear pierced through its body making the creature howl one more time, but it didn't stopped it. Joseph clenched and unclenched his fist biting his lip in frustration at the approaching hollow. It swung its huge arm at him but the blond was fast and climbed on it taking with him another pole. With a yell, he threw the metal at its head successfully embedding it through the white mask.

He landed sighing in relief at the vanishing hollow and turned to look at Suna lying on the ground bleeding badly. Her eyes opened to look at him and her lips curled in a genuine smile at his sight. Joseph answered with the same smile as his hand crept on her back pulling her upwards.

"Hey…don't pass out just now! Are you alright?"

The red headed girl smirked, watching him through half opened eyelids. "Kinda!...I don't know for sure!...Thanks for the rescue, by the way!"

"Hold on! I'll get you outta here!" He smiled confidently and he gently lifted the injured girl in his arms careful not to touch her fresh wound and made his way through the debris.

A sudden explosion far away snapped their attention in the direction of the forest and the golden flames eating away the trees signaled in their heads another fight taking place. At the same time, the clashes and clings up in the dark sky intensified and the hollows roared seemingly louder destroying every structure in their way.

Two of them leaped at them from behind the stone boulders around directing their sharp claws or spikes at them. Joseph didn't wait another second and took off running, tightening his grip on the girl as she buried her head in his shirt.

"Where are the others?"

The blond risked a glance at Suna feeling his shirt getting wet but his pace didn't stop or slowed down. He gritted his teeth and ducked behind a still standing corner. He watched the hollows stop and sniff the air before they turned in their direction.

In his arms, the red head whimpered at what was in store for them but the whisper in her ear completely silenced her. "_Everything is gonna be alright!...I'll protect you!_"

She felt Joseph gently putting her down, propped against the wall and slowly unclenched her stiff fingers from his robe. Sparing her a warm smile, he ran around the corner and the last thing she heard was the howl of a hollow followed by a big blast before the unconsciousness took over her mind.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

"Crimson Flames!"

The wave of heated fire raged around the courtyard burning to crisps the hollows until they were nothing more than literally scum. He smirked jumping in the air and coming down with a flying kick at one of his opponents sending it to the ground before shooting at it with a fire ball in the mask. It cracked but didn't break and the hollow got up lashing at him with an impressive speed and thrusting its muscular arm in the ground where he stood.

Han back flipped lading in a perfect crouch, his hands ablaze and ready to unleash a barrage of fire against it. It pounced at him again running on all four limbs and the raven haired teen did the same sliding under it and placing his hands on its belly.

"Fire!"

The heat made the hollow screech and disappear into thin air. Han stood up looking around him confused but the empty surroundings only added questions in his head. "Where did it go?"

"_Nani koitsu!_"

The hollow watched the boy gasp as he turned around. The fist however still connected with his shoulder sending him skidding through the damaged remnants of the buildings. The masked creature smirked, its eyes glowing brighter thinking at a new meal and leaped at him again plunging its claws through the rocks in an attempt to find the boy.

It didn't take too long when Han aimed at him another fire ball that was easily dismissed but before the hollow knew it, the boy's fist clashed with the mask splitting it in pieces. "There you go, you good for nothing monster!"

The hollow vanished and Han fell on his knees clutching his right shoulder greedily taking in as much air as possible. The bashes around him fell into dull thuds in the back of his mind that he gladly ignored for a second when a rock smacked in his head.

"Hey, don't stand there like an idiot…idiot!"

Now clutching his throbbing head, Han turned to look at thee girl with a murderous glare. "_Ta ma de_ Kassie! Aren't I already beaten up enough?" She smirked darkly making the boy to warily lean back. "Stop thinking like that! We're on the same side! And besides…we don't have time for this!"

Kassie rolled her grayish eyes in an attempt to look careless but Han could tell she was in no better condition than him. She had an ugly cut on the side of her neck, the blood painting her front pink bangs in a deep crimson color, and he presumed that it continued on her back from the way her shoulders were so stiff. She also had several scratches on her legs and forearms not to mention the quite colorful bruises. He was sure he looked the same except he most likely had a dislocated shoulder instead of a bleeding wound.

"Come on!"

Han grabbed her hand pulling himself up when another bone chilling shriek announce them of the presence of another hollow. It leaped from the top of a still standing building digging its back claws in the ground and aiming its long beak at them.

Kass took a hold of the boy's arm dragging him in a more open field. They returned in the courtyard with the hollow behind them only to find other two there.

"Way to go!" the boy muttered sarcastically in her ear.

"Shut up!"

The three hollows chuckled darkly circling around their victims causing them to stand back to back in order to see any attack. Kass winced slightly at the pressure of Han's back against hers but her dignity obliged her to not let anyone see it. The two of them bent down on their knees when the hollows pounced forward, the smiles back on their faces.

"Combo Formation: Heavenly Conflagration!"

Simultaneously Han shoved his hands in the ground creating a ring of fire around them and the hollows while Kassie raise her arms at the sky, the electricity cracking through her hands as the clouds swirled booming with the power of a thunderstorm. The lightning shot down and the fire climbed up both meeting in a hellish collision that melted them together before coming on the ground with a tremendous resound.

The loud explosion covered the screeches the energy expanding around them destroying other hollows and creating a crater on the place of the impact. Han and Kassie fell down from the exhaustion still supported on each other's back but knocked out by the intensity of the strike.

**-Bleach-**

Master Ren covered himself and Dojo from the shockwave inside the temple vault. Luckily it didn't have a ceiling or they would have been killed by the falling rocks. Still the walls were also a danger reverberating with the power just displayed and threatening to explode in every moment.

"I can't believe they've just used that!" whispered Dojo his voice a bit shaken with fear.

Master Ren frowned staring at the door and in the distance where the fire was slowly extinguishing. "Yes...but they're in great danger now! We must get there!" He ran out coughing in his sleeve as the dust and debris was up in the air again but continued to go in their direction.

"Master Ren!"

Dojo glanced around squinting his eyes to see through the thick smoke and finally make out Joseph carrying an unconscious Suna. The old master let out a breath of relief at their sight and the green dragon smiled at them before noticing the state they were in. Joseph had a visible gash on his forehead and a cut running across his left arm not to mention his left ankle looked sprained. He vaguely wondered how he managed to carry the girl with such and injured leg.

Master Ren seemed to take notice of it too and he offered to carry Suna. The blond didn't objected but he hesitantly let her go as if she was a fragile heirloom. "Let's go!" The three of them made their way as quick as they could to the crater and when they got there they were surprised to see it empty.

"They're no here!" Joseph stated aloud his tone devoid of any known emotions.

The xiaolin monk nervously bit his lip glancing around for any sign of the two's presences. When he didn't find any he cursed softly under his breath.

* * *

**Shiwase No Kaze – Blissful Wind**

**Sakeme - Rip**

**Chikusho! – Damn it!**

**Nani koitsu! – You little brat!**

**Ta ma de! – Fuck it!**

**Hope this was to your liking and please leave a review with your opinion before you decide to go and never turn back to it! Hee...! Till next time, guys and gals!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay…so the fight scenes in this chapter are kind of lame in my opinion. I just have something in my head that tells me they're so awful. Maybe is just an underestimation but I doubt it. Pretty please tell me your opinion! **

**Translations at the bottom! I don't own anything but the plot and the OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Kimiko painfully met the ground with a deafening crash squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to get air in her torn lungs. Propping her body on her elbows she gripped her swords and looked up to see the full release of the Arrancar. His body was covered in a white armor beginning from his neck and ending at his feet with claws. His arms were bare, revealing his muscular tanned skin and sharp tendrils spreading on his hands ending with sharp spikes. His loose hair was widely flung in the wind held backwards by the mask that encircled his head like a crown.

Auzric wore a blank face as his dark eyes surveyed the damage he had forced on the shinigami. "I see you're still up to fight!" he nodded pleased at her choice and that only added at her dislike for the guy.

"It is polite to help a woman in need, y'know?" she yelled at him as she collected herself from the crater and dusted her robe. She only heard him huffing and she could imagine him crossing his arms.

"That is not what kind of person faith is preparing me to become!"

"Oh…Don't worry!" Kimiko replied with a grin looking up at him. "I'm sure faith is going to be happy that I will send you on the enlightened path! If you could just stay still!"

She shunpo-ed in front of him her blades crossed in an x above her head and brought them down. Auzric smirked blocking them with the spikes on his hands and leaped backwards disappearing with a static sound. The sonido was promptly followed by Kimiko's shunpo and they both met in the air resulting in a shockwave putting down the trees around them.

Kimiko gritted her teeth as her muscles strained to keep her flaming blades in place in front of her opponent. Auzric wasn't having too much trouble though. His steady hand firmly held the sword and his stare bored in Kimiko's sapphire eyes. The fire didn't make any major damage on the Arrancar either as the girl noticed so she decided upon another approach.

She leaped backwards her slim hands swinging the swords on her sides in a complete arch until the tips were directed towards Auzric. The red flames flickered in the moonlight their intensity slightly decreasing until their color slowly changed into an icy blue. Kimiko smirked swishing the blue edged swords playfully in front of her before bringing them down as two twin cobalt birds flew out of them.

"_Tsuin Chourui!_"

Auzric watched with an eyebrow raised the two birds coming at him at neck breaking speed and a small smile tugged on his lips. He put his right hand before him lazily following an invisible pattern in the air.

"Three Pointed Star, _Skydda_!"

The area shone white and as the fire birds drew closer the light completely disintegrated them. Kimiko's eyes narrowed to slits putting the now red blades in front of her and her knees bent in a crouch. Auzric flashed her a victorious smirk and started to form another outline in the air.

"Seven Pointed Star, _Klyfta_!"

The star shone a blood red when suddenly small crimson rays shot out from the seven points. Her eyes wide opened, the black haired female leaped out of the way of the beams watching them from the corner of her sight expecting them to turn around and come back after her. Surprisingly they didn't…because it was a distraction.

"Two Pointed Star, _Chocka_!"

Her head snapped in front of her in time to see another beam, this time green, coming at her. Thinking fast, Kimiko put her palms in front of her still holding her swords and gathered her reiatsu. "_Bakud__ō__ no sanj__ū__ ky__ū__, Enkosen_!"

A golden shield formed in front of her that bounced off the green shot and a second after it disappeared she was before the blue haired Arrancar, her arms crossed and the blades pointed down. In a swift move she threw her hands wide opened, the blazing swords slashing the hollow's chest creating two deep gashes. Auzric watched with surprised dark eyes the fast move but when his brain processed what happened he sonido-ed out of the way of the flurry of slashes Kimiko flung at him.

The enraged girl smirked darkly easily keeping up with the Arrancar and relentlessly attacked not giving him time to make any move beside avoiding her owns. She leaped high in the air, the light of the flames pointing her position although Auzric couldn't do anything when a rain of fireballs fell upon him.

"Che…Three Pointed Star, _Skydda_!" the fire balls connected with the white shield filling the air around him with smoke and blurring his vision of the shinigami. "She's stronger than the stars predicted!"

A snort made the Arrancar to swiftly turn around in time to block the sword with his forearm. He grunted in pain as the flames burned his exposed skin but shrugged it off when his black eyes found the cobalt orbs of his opponent. Kimiko held a strain smile on her face gripping tightly the hilt of the sword until her knuckles turned a sickly white.

"What did you expect from a captain?" she asked through clenched teeth. She was obviously tired after the last attack and the overuse of shunpo but she was content of finally having the hollow defeated so she could return to the temple and hopefully find everyone alright.

"You didn't seem so strong at the beginning!" spoke Auzric the frown darkening his features.

"Hmph…I just wanted to see your level! I can say now that you're done!"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Kimiko smiled and exhale loudly. "I mean I don't have to use Bankai to finish you off! And I'll do it right now!"

Auzric grinned up at her. "We'll see about that Shinigami!"

"Sure thing!"

Faster than the normal eye could see, the girl shoved her leg in the man's side throwing him down with a crash. She moved toward the place where he hit the ground gracefully landing and squinted her eyes to see through the smoke and dust formed. A black shadow loomed in front of her and she jumped in the air as his fist connected with the ground creating a small crater. In mid jump, Kimiko bent her legs and easily extending one smashing it into the Arrancar's chest.

He stumbled back and Kimiko took that as her cue to end the fight. Spinning in place, the girl smacked her slender leg in Auzric's head dazing him some more before coming at him with her swords. One of the blades slashed through his arm and the other made its way to his neck but stopped when a lowly hollow leaped at her out of the blue.

Huffing in annoyance, Kimiko jumped back avoiding the centipede's tail and shot forwards again slicing through it effortlessly. The small delay though made her lose sight of Auzric and she shunpo-ed in the air to get a better view. Everything was quiet if you didn't count the rustle of the broken trees and the still burning fire from here and there. Besides that, everything was silent.

"Damn coward!"

She lost him…but then, without warning a huge explosion shook the ground reverberating through the air and forcing Kimiko to shield her face with her hands. In the distance a blue cloud rose with some reddish streaks running around it. Without a second though, the female rushed to the place.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Rai blocked another hit from Roo's claws that threw him back and gritted his teeth in anger at the continuous game. Since he released his zanpakuto, Roo's speed and strength grew considerably not to mention that his wounds healed. Raimundo was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of quick hits and slashes but fortunately he held his ground, getting out unscathed from most of the tight situations.

He bent down again letting the sharp bones of the wing pass above his head and positioned the sword in his grip. He shoved it forward cutting the his opponent's side although the white hard substance mostly blocked it, lessening the damage.

Roo thrust his clawed left hand down toward Rai's shoulder but he managed to get out of the way using shunpo. Rai appeared behind him and spun around throwing the silver blade on his back and slashed between the wings. Roo yelled in pain turning his head to glare at him but it turned into a smirk as he started flapping his black wings.

The knife like bones flew down at Raimundo who blocked them with the blade. With a grunt, he fast pulled the sword as he leaped further away from him at the same time cutting through them and earning another growl from the Arrancar. Infuriated, the black haired hollow turned around, a cero prepared in both of his hands.

Rai scowled but kept his ground. He was ready to counterattack with a hadō the incoming hit. As Roo released the two red balls of reiatsu, Rai pointed his index and middle finger at them and yelled confidently.

"_Had__ō__ no sanj__ū__ san, S__ō__katsui_!"

The bluish energy cracked on his hand before exploding forward like a tsunami. The massive wave connected with the ceros with a loud bang that could have resembled an atomic bomb creating a sphere of swirling energy between them. Both of them were thrown backwards by the sheer force and the wind that suddenly erupted from the collision.

Roo was ready to jump back in the fray but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He swiftly turned around, light blue eyes filled with rage and hatred and almost snapped at the possessor of the hand until he saw who it was. Auzric threw him one of his serious looks and that was everything he had to do to make the younger Arrancar understand. Roo shut his mouth and hesitantly nodded before they both disappeared.

Kimiko reached the area as the dust started to dissipate and the light slowly faded out of existence leaving behind it the burnt, withered ground. She coughed in her sleeve a few times trying to throw out the poisonous smoke still lingering in the air until a familiar face appeared next to her wearing one of the most serious looks she had seen at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked before the girl had any time to say something. Instead she inhaled deeply and nodded her eyes searching his body for any injuries. Beside some minor scratches she couldn't find anything too severe.

"So you had some company too?"

"No so pleasant though!" Rai smirked at her and his gaze suddenly averted to the temple. "We should get back!"

Kimiko gravely agreed and both disappeared in a fast shunpo praying nothing bad happened to their ex-home. As they got closer however, their views were greeted by demolished buildings, crumbled walls and uprooted trees scattered in a gruesome patters along with trails of blood and some hidden bodies under the debris.

Both stopped at the edge of a crater where Joseph, Suna, Master Ren and Dojo stood waiting downcast. As his eyes laid on them, the small dragon beamed crawling toward them. The blond dragon didn't seem to share his happiness and the old monk looked quite relieved while the girl was still unconscious.

"Are you okay guys? We've heard some explosions in the forest!"

Raimundo nodded crouching down to his level as Kimiko flipped open a cell phone and scanned the small screen. "We're fine…but where are the other two? Han and Kassie?"

Dojo nervously scratched his neck looking anywhere but in his emerald eyes. "Well…you see…they're kind of gone!"

A snap resounded in the silence that abruptly fell on the group. Dojo looked up and saw Kimiko holding the shut cell phone in her unmoving hand while her eyes stared at something far away. Turning to Raimundo he noticed the same distant look although he was sure both of them were thinking hard underneath, the wheels in their heads moving at a few miles per hour.

"Let's take care of you first!" he heard Kimiko speak softly as she walked toward the three monks. Master Ren nodded and picked up Suna while Joseph sent away the black haired shinigami choosing instead to walk on his own.

"This is not good!" muttered Dojo scratching his goatee.

**-Bleach-**

Once they reached a secured section that by miracle wasn't that damaged, Master Ren put the red headed girl on a mat while Kimiko sat beside her. She nodded at the man and he left letting the shinigami heal her student as fast as possible without interruptions. Kimiko placed her glowing yellow hands on the girl's chest watching with a sadden expression the wounds that she received in their absence.

Master Ren left the small construction in hopes of finding other monks that survived the assault and therefore discuss the outcomes. He sighed as his feet stepped on the pebbles, the rocks smashing under his feet as he made his way through the destroyed remnants of the once proud temple.

"So…" Dojo began crawling on the man's shoulder.

"This is very troublesome, my friend! And it's not even over!"

Dojo threw the master a confused glance but shrugged it off deciding he would find out sooner or later. For the time being he was more worried of how the two remaining dragons would react at the latest events.

In the room next to the one Suna was taken care of the silence was awkwardly filling the air. Joseph was tending his own injuries and Rai was more than happy to let him do it as he had to admit he wasn't a master at healing them as he was at obtaining them. Still he couldn't let go of the pang of guilt hanging in his gut at seeing the boy hissing in pain each time he accidently touched a soft bruised spot.

"Do you –"

"I don't need your help!" Rai had to swallow the lump formed in his throat at the venomous answer although his features didn't give away any emotion it might have caused as the boy seemed to hope.

Rai exhaled profoundly, closing his forest green eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned on the wall. Nothing was really going as he anticipated. Of course, he couldn't blame the kid for being angry, after all his friends just went missing when their protectors should have taken care that to not happen. He was sure that in his place, Raimundo would have acted a lot more violently so he was quite pleased with the way Joseph was taking the things.

"Where were you?" The voice barely reached a whisper but Rai didn't have trouble hearing it. He was somehow torn inside at the defeated tone the boy had as he wrapped the bandage around his ankle.

"There were two Arrancar leading the attack. We fought them!" he stated simply.

"And?"

"And they got away…" he finished shifting his gaze to the ground. "But at least we know they'll come back after you! We'll be more prepared next time!" he added as an afterthought.

Joseph nodded the fire in his eyes slowly dismissing but not enough to lose that determined sparkle. Rai smiled swiftly closing the distance between them and patted the boy on his head. The blond froze at the gesture and he was ready to shove the hand away when Rai just as fast as he put it, take it and walked out on the door.

"You would be a great leader kid!"

Joseph's hazelnut eyes followed him until he vanished after stepping over the threshold before he let the smile spread on his face. "Che…Whatever! That doesn't mean I like you or something!" he mumbled to himself continuing to tend his leg.

In the next room, Suna stirred slowly cracking an eye open to see another pair of blue orbs standing above her. Kimiko noticed her awaken and smiled reassuringly tilting her head towards her hands. Suna followed her gaze and shifted her eyes at her body, gradually realizing she was surrounded by a golden glow coming from the other girl's hands.

"What…"

"It's a healing spell, don't worry!"

The red haired girl was then hit by the fact that her body didn't hurt anymore. Every pain subdued to a trivial throb that could have been mistaken with the ones received from their light trainings. Her eyes widened when her thought drifted to her friends.

"K-Kimiko…where are the others? What happened after I passed out?"

Kimiko's warm smile melted in a thin line and her brows furrowed. Suna also noticed the change in her eyes. From the happiness and comfort they had, her eyes were suddenly clouded with sadness and concern and…was that fear? However, she quickly put her mask back on blocking Suna from getting anymore glimpses in her emotions.

Before answering, Kimiko had to lick her dry lips and take a breath more because of the exhausting kidō than her nervousness. "Joseph is in the other room, caring his own wounds, Master Ren left to look after the other monks with Dojo, and Han and Kassie…we don't really know where they are!"

Suna remained quiet, her blue eyes staring at the ceiling contemplating the recent news. "What do you mean…you don't know…where they are? Are they…"

"No!" Kimiko said sharply making the girl tense under her hands. Her face softened though and she looked in the girl's eyes determined. "We think they were taken! But there might be a problem because…"

"But you should protect us!" the girl added strongly. She sat up on her butt gripping Kimiko's hand in a way that said 'it's enough'. "We have to save them…and you know more about these things than us!"

Kimiko was ready to say yes to those pleading eyes although she knew she couldn't. Her mind was torn between two possibilities both having dangerous consequences. Her duty as a shinigami and as captain restrained her from making such a rush decision and in turn she closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, her long tied hair swiping on her back with her movements.

"Suna…I have to talk to Rai first and I know he will agree with you but…" she sighed opening her eyes and staring straight at the girl. "Look…we have some rules. And these rules aren't to be taken lightly! We have to discuss with our superior and prepare a rescue team…there are many things that have to be done…And, there is also the fact that he may not agree with it!"

"What! Why?"

"He is a very hard to convince kind of person but maybe…just maybe…" she stopped her gaze falling on the girl's teary eyes. "Please don't do this!"

Kimiko shook her head, her own eyes filling with wet tears at the sight of the distress girl. "Ok…I'll see what I can do! Just stop it! I haven't cried for years!"

Suna smiled softly and leaned back on the wall. She glance at Kimiko who was rubbing her head as if to stop a migraine and whispered fidgeting her hands in her lap. "Thank you Kimiko!"

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Raimundo let out a breath as he closed his communicator. He has just finished reporting what happened in the last hours to the soutaicho so he settled on waiting on the top of the hill for the sun to crept from behind the horizon. His green eyes stared unfocused at the lightening sky watching the blue slowly transform into pink and then yellow and red.

The process of the sunshine was happening without the shinigami caring. He just looked blankly in front of him, more absorbed in his own thoughts to pay attention to what was around him. The head-captain said he would think of a proper way of solving things and hopefully he would sent some other shinigami for help seeing that the mission seemed to take a sudden turn for the worst.

Rai sighed tiredly rubbing his face. "Why the hell did I even accept this mission?"

* * *

**Tsuin Chourui – Frozen Twin Birds**

**Skydda – Protect**

**Klyfta – Fissure**

**Chocka – Stun**

**Bakud****ō**** no sanj****ū**** ky****ū,**** Enkosen – Way of Binding Number 39, Arc Shield**

**Had****ō**** no sanj****ū**** san, S****ō****katsui – Way of Destruction Number 33, Blue Fire Crash Down**

**Kid****ō**** – Demon Way/Spirit Way**

**Soutaicho – Head Captain**

**So there it is…the fifth chapter! Actually, I didn't plan it this way but **_**this way**_** I will be able to add the other two ex-xiaolin dragons. So yes…Clay and Omi will appear but I have no idea what to do with the gang from the future. The initial plan was for all four of them to disappear but I kind of ignore it, unintentionally of course!**

**But hey, you don't have to worry! That's the authors' things…to bang their heads on the desks until the inspiration strikes…right Laya? *silence* Damn it! That girl knows only to party!**

**Sorry everyone, but I have to hunt down my inspiration before writer's block kidnap me…again!**

**Have fun in life!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gomen nasai! I admit I was lazy but school also got in my way. Since the vacation was over I've been kind of drunken…spiritually speaking! I'm just starting to come around and get used with the hard work of school and all just in time for my literature teacher to give me and my class to learn a poem of 100 strophes. My life is so sweet I want to kill myself!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

After the hellish night that pushed everyone to their limits the scarred grounds were greeted by the holy light of the rising sun. With the view now cleaned from smoke, dust and darkness the area where most of the battle took place looked desolated and cold. You wouldn't have expected that a few days ago when everything was quiet and peaceful and they all trained without a care in the world.

But the reality clung to the picture, the raw breath of danger still lurking on the grounds clenching in their grasp the quieted signs of recovering. Half of the temple was completely demolished, the once magnificent Chinese architecture broken to pieces and thrown in the winds. The gardens were burned and literally turned upside down while the trees were scattered everywhere as splinters and smashed branches.

Master Ren lead the two remaining monks into a rescued part of the temple giving them some time to recover after the fight and hopefully avert their thoughts from what happened. The old master though, couldn't rest as his mind was permanently assailed with unanswered questions. The dragon council either couldn't ease his fears so he decided that a cup of green tea would be more than welcome to help him put a stop to the strain of disturbing thoughts.

One of his main dilemmas was, where did the two shinigami leave? Since Kimiko healed Suna, he hadn't seen neither hide nor hair of them. He reassured himself he didn't have anything to worry about and perhaps they only needed some time alone after that night. He hesitantly pushed that thought out of his mind and returned at drinking his tea, taking in the light, fresh and soothing fragrance that slowly relaxed his old, tense body.

Meanwhile, Suna couldn't sleep at all. She kept turning and tossing on the mat in her room that wasn't a cubicle but a real room, pulling the thin blanket to her chin before throwing it away on the other side of the chamber, burying her face in the pillow and gripping it tightly as her mind twisted around the latest event.

With a huff of annoyance, the red headed girl sat upright on her knees, a small frown adorning her face as her piercing azure gaze searched the room for something to distract her. She didn't find anything but that was expected. Gradually, she stood up her hand rubbing her face tiredly and walked to the door.

She peeked outside to see the empty hallway and without a second glance she shot off for the library. It wasn't much she could do, and she hated it terribly. Being so vulnerable at the moment was slowly driving her nuts but more than that she hated not knowing what was going on. Sure, she knew the surface but that wasn't enough. The deeper secrets worried her very much and the knowledge of Raimundo and Kimiko being honest with them all this time started to crumble as easily as the temple the previous night.

Of course, it wasn't the fact that she didn't trust them, she actually found in them some good company and they knew a lot of cool things on top of all, but that small voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her they were more that they let to be seen lately started to scream. And it constantly gave her a headache as well as some unwelcomed frustration.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in emptying her head as her legs continued to walk on their own to the destination. When she opened her eyes, the girl found herself in front of the newly built library, the arcade greeting her with the usual red curtains covering it from curious eyes.

Suna parted the makeshift door and entered the chamber with small, unsure steps. Her hand traveled on the left wall in search for the switch and soon enough the lights flickered on, momentarily blinding the girl with their intensity.

With a sigh, the red head glanced at the shelves decorating the walls filled with heavy looking books and tomes making her way toward them and scanning the titles with a blank stare. Her fingers trailed on the backbones of the books but none of them succeeded in helping the young dragon. Although, Suna was deadly serious in staying there until she would find something that could aid her in saving her friends.

**-Bleach-**

His fist collided with the tree again sending another wave of painful chills down his arm that he stubbornly ignored turning around instead with a roundhouse kick. The same happened with his ankle but he resisted the urge to stop and lay down. Only by thinking about them it would flare up and took over him; a blind anger that pushed to be released, that pushed to be left out and make him do things he would surely regret.

But he couldn't let himself loose his control. He was always the most level headed of the team, the one who thought on the outside of the box and didn't let his emotions run wild. Why was this any different?

Oh yeah…because half of the team was captured by the enemy!

"AAAGHH!" The tree shook at the impact, the higher branched moving up and down until they settled still while Joseph panted heavily clutching his bruised knuckles. "Damn it!" He fell on his knees, his forehead resting on the trunk as he took in deep gasps of air.

Master Ren told him and Suna to rest but he somehow found it very difficult. He couldn't even think of eating in the current situation much more sleep! The guilt continued to hang on his shoulders and it fueled the anger he tried so hard to diminish. His teeth clenched and his hands dangerously balled into fists, the sudden urge to punch and destroy something coming at him again in full force.

He struggled to keep it under control slowly sensing his heart beat going back to normal and his breaths even out but he didn't dare to move from his position. He preferred to remain motionless in the clearing, listening to the natural sounds around him and feeling the way it calmed his distressed mind.

He felt the wind ruffling his golden locks, singing with the leaves and the morning chilling freshness that healed his injured hands as they laid on the grass on his sides. The birds chirped and the sun shone brightly but he couldn't reach that level of tranquil. Not now at least!

He sucked in a shuddering breath and stood up only to gasp as he remembered his wounded leg. He leant on the tree checking the damage he had unintentionally inflicted and sighed in relief at seeing that it merely seemed to be sore from supporting his weight on it for the kick.

With his vision cleared again, Joseph decided upon returning to the temple before he would be attacked by hollows or something like that. He also wanted to see if Suna was alright, but he could bet she was already out of her room and in the library or walking around to think.

After all, it was such a nice day!

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

The words continuously flew in front of her blue eyes their meaning somehow lost in the thick air of the room. The curtain remain drawn, and the heated light became unbearable to the girl sitting at the desk surrounded by book and papers.

The repeated flips of pages and the mute bang of the heavy tomes on the wooden table were the only sounds in the room reverberating in her mind with empty echoes. They stumbled on the walls of her head, knocking down her concentration and creating a dust of mental distraction that brought forth one hell of a headache. The atmosphere around wasn't helpful either.

Suna closed her eyes with a tired sight as her hand touched her throbbing temples massaging them in repetitive circles. Everything wasn't going as planned for the red headed dragon. The search she has began in the morning lasted for more than half a day. To top it all, she didn't eat anything and furthermore didn't even leave the room for a second.

But no, she couldn't leave! The task was more important than her physical needs. She was determined to find something that could give them information…she was sick of being in the darkness and if those two wouldn't help her she had to do it the hard way.

Although…the hard way was proving itself to be kinda pointless. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, even close to those hollows beside demons and they didn't have any mask or holes in their bodies. Suna also thought about the spells Raimundo and Kimiko used before and took a shot at trying to find something about them. That didn't go well either! Unfortunately, without a name there was no point in searching as there were hundreds, even thousands of healing and offensive spells.

Frustrated, the girl let her head hit the desk with a bang at the same time sending flying to the ground some papers where she noted ideas or possible things…alas there weren't too many.

"This is suicidal!"

"Doing it by yourself, of course it is!"

Suna didn't flinched at the new voice deciding to scowl instead and mutter things under her breath. She heard his footsteps coming closer and finally say two legs in her peripheral vision. Looking up she stare for a minute at Joseph who was preoccupying himself with analyzing the books scattered around.

His expression didn't give anything away, she realized sadly. Letting out a breath, her gaze averted to the desk slightly catching sight of his bandaged hands. Her eyes widened for a moment but chose to let it slide. It was never good to bring up the bad part of a situation unless you wanted someone screaming at you.

"I suppose you didn't find anything!"

"Um…yeah! Everything was fruitless!"

The blond nodded turning on his heels. "Dinner is ready!"

When he was out of the room, the red haired girl leant on the chair and crossed her arms in front of her. She was in no way in the mood to be around other people and that mood got worse seeing her friend beating himself up for something that he couldn't do anything about. Her troubled eyes trailed on each corner of the room taking notes of the dust gathered on the shelves or the cobwebs that started to form in the more darkened places.

She felt like a walking storm of emotions ready to burst at any given chance, but more than that she blamed herself for being so weak and feared that Joseph was also blaming her for what had happened. The simple thought was bringing tears in her eyes and the shadow of a wail in her throat. Her body slouched forward, elbows on the table and hands covering her face but no crying…only a constant mental torment.

At the sound of hurried steps in the hallway and the sudden swish of the curtains opening though, her head whipped around almost hearing her neck snapping while Master Ren sighed in relief at her sight. She quickly looked down, the past moments vanishing from her mind and being replaced with the itch to sunk in the ground. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish on dry land but the old monk shook his head as in 'not now'.

"Dojo sensed another shen-gong-wu! You can explain what you were doing here instead of resting when you return, young dragon!"

Suna nodded, fleeing out of the room as soon as possible not forgetting to send an apologetic smile over her shoulder which was replied with an understanding smile.

It didn't take her long to get to the garden, seeing there not only Joseph but Raimundo and Kimiko too. Without another word they took off and Suna thanked the gods that was dark outside so she couldn't see the damage brought upon the temple.

**-Bleach-**

The old man stared at the brush in his hand, his piercing red eyes thinking at the best way to solve the problem. The problem itself was a mystery to him but that didn't stopped the theories from invading his mind. The fact that two humans were abducted by hollows raised way too many question than answers and what was more concerning was that the kidnappers didn't seem to be in the same league with Aizen.

The soutaicho sighed finally settling down the brush and stopping the dripping of black ink on the sheet of paper beneath it. He placed his elbows on the table, crossing his fingers at his eye level just as a man with short silvery gray hair, a small black handlebar mustache and sharp yellow eyes appeared out of thin air in front of him. He bowed respectfully and waited to hear his captain's orders.

"Send a quick message to the captain of squad five and the third seat of squad three."

"_Hai!_"

With a nod Chōjirō Sasakibe vanished and it didn't pass two minutes when two other figures came in his office via shunpo. The taller one glance with half a smirk under his cowboy hat at the shorter bald monk who returned it with a nod before they both felt the captain-commander's gaze on them and they straightened up professionally.

"Your help is required in the world of the living. Not too long ago an attack took place at the temple and from what Raimundo-_kun_ has reported me, two humans were captured and taken to Hueco Mundo."

Clay's mouth dropped in a silent gasp but he soon took a hold of himself and put on a rather grim face. Omi's eyes widened for a second before narrowing in a serious expression and asked. "Is it a rescue mission?"

Yamamoto-_soutaicho_ didn't answer, choosing to stare deeply at the two shinigami. "Not yet…"

Clay tipped his hat over his eyes feeling his jaw clenched and his teeth smashing against each other and he could tell Omi was in a no better position. Knowing arguing would be pointless the two resumed to tilt their heads in agreement.

"Well then! You know your mission!"

"_Hai!_"

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Miwa swore loudly after tripping over her fifty root or so. The forest was very thick with tall and old trees spreading their wooden bodies all over the cold, bare ground. The sky was cloudy in northern Russia but even with two full suns the light wouldn't have been able to penetrate the tangled mass of branches and leaves.

Beside her, Wuya sighed annoyed watching the girl bent over and rub her throbbing toes. Her teal orbs glared angrily at the ground and the witch could see green sparkles flying around her hands ready to burst into blazing flames as her temper rose.

"Where the heck is that wu again?"

"The Tangle Web Comb should be ahead in the oldest tree."

"They are the same for me." Muttered the girl through gritted teeth as she started walking this time keeping a close eye on the roots. The silence was soon broken when two familiar figures appeared into sight sitting on the branches of the widest tree she has ever seen.

A sneer spread on her face illuminating the sparkle in her eyes as she watched Suna talking, or more like yelling, to Joseph who was searching for the wu. They didn't notice her and she could easily take that to her advantage although the other two failed to appear in her vision and that was a halt in her plan.

"Look higher! Or between the main branches." Suna long ago noticed Joseph's frown as she screamed for him where and when to look so she settled on using a more softer tone, one from which you could easily figure out she was tired and wanted to go home.

Joseph was more content as well and swiftly jumped in the tree with the agility of a monkey when he finally spotted it; a golden brown comb sitting casually between the main wooden limbs. He quickly grabbed it and came back to where Suna was standing showing it to her smirking.

"Found it!"

The girl eagerly nodded and took the wu only to drop it when a green fireball passed inches away from her face and hit the tree. Both turned around glaring at Miwa who came again in a frontal assault.

"Annoying little pest…"

"Nice to see you too, dragons!"

Joseph jumped forth throwing a punch which the girl sidestepped spinning around for a kick. The blond ducked low falling into a sweep kick that unfortunately Miwa back flipped over cutting the air with a slash and sending a wave of green energy trough the air as she landed. Joseph jumped to his feet and out of the way right as the blast collided with the ground raising a cloud of smoke between the two fighters.

The girl swiftly stepped out of it yelling as she thrust her fist at him. Joseph put his arms protectively in front of him blocking the punch with a groan realizing they were still engulfed in that green fire when he felt his leg giving away and he looked down surprised to see Miwa throwing it in the air with her own. He rammed with the ground painfully but instead of feeling another punch or kick he was left there standing with his eyes closed.

"Guess this will make us even!"

Scowling, the boy stood up watching Suna exchanging hits with Miwa at a fast pace. The female xiaolin apprentice aimed her fist toward Miwa's face but the heylin witch blocked it by catching it with her wrists in an 'x' throwing her arm in the air and creating an opening to her chest delivering one painful hit with her blazing hands. Suna stumbled backwards clutching her chest with a pained expression that soon turned to fear and panic as the witch charged forward with a cruel smile.

"Stop!" All three of them froze in place slowly turning their confused glances at the ghostly form of Wuya. "Child, we have to leave!" she said hurriedly to Miwa.

Miwa on the other hand, opened her mouth to protest although she knew the older witch must have had a good reason to abandon a shen-gong-wu hunt just like that. Choosing to frown instead, the red headed girl jumped beside her, throwing a glare over her shoulder at the two monks before disappearing in the forest.

When they were gone,, the two traded confused glances. "What was that all about?"

Joseph shrugged sitting up. "At least they didn't get the wu!"

Only to kill their good moods, the two shinigami appeared in the small glade wearing grim looks that never bode well to a situation that seems so happy.

"Is something wrong?" Suna asked tentatively. Right on cue a bone chilling roar filled the air disturbing the peace of the resting birds and making them fly in the opposite direction.

Raimundo cocked an eyebrow as he glance at her. "Does that answer your question?"

"There are Menos Grande!" spoke Kimiko staring at the sky as much as she could through the dome twigs.

Rai nodded somehow sorrowful. "Yep…and quite many!" Dojo crawled out of the boy's haori and jumped on the ground growing in size. "So, I get the kids and hightail it out of here, right?"

"I thought it was obvious!" replied the brunet, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

"Wel…You heard him!" the dragon told to Suna and Joseph pointing his finger at his back. A little overwhelmed by the sudden turn of action, the two apprentices hopped on Dojo and he immediately took off.

While still on the ground, Kimiko stepped beside Raimundo giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't do something stupid!"

"You worry too much Kimi!"

They shared a smile before they both disappeared each going in an opposite direction.

* * *

**After so much action…much more action! But I'm quite content of how the first part turned out and yes…I put in Clay, Omi and old man Yamamoto! Hurray! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Goodbye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah! Sorry for the disappearance period…I don't really have an excuse beside my own chronic laziness and lack of inspiration along with an absurd unmotivated state of being. I also presume you've already given up my stories. Hell, I'll probably do a quadruple check (most likely even more) if I **_**do**_** get a review for this. Hehe! I didn't actually expected a welcoming party anyway but I did said I won't abandon those stories no matter how much it takes to write them.**

**Oh! And one more thing. Officially, this story's plot is down the drain. I need to think of something else because I've realized I didn't like where this was going. So I finished this arc and probably I'll add a filler next, until I come up with something new. I'll see what I can do and if it will take some time I have other project to get down to.**

**As usual, the translation is at the bottom. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_They shared a smile before they both disappeared each going in an opposite direction. _

Kimiko was to follow Dojo while Raimundo took care of the menos which were enormous five stories tall creatures covered with a black cloak and a white mask with an elongated nose. Around their necks were rows of thin white spikes and their feet were white and large. The good news were that the menos were the weakest hollows although they could pose a threat in a large group which was the present case.

Rai stopped in mid air mentally counting the number of the behemoths. They were twenty at least each crushing with their steps the powerless forest beneath. The roars were continuous as it was the group coming through the black rupture in the air. Rai unsheathed Teikiatsu activating his shikai and leaped in the air easily slashing through the first one. The next two fell just as simply as it took some time for the giants to process the arrival of an enemy. When they did though, the gillians move on the offensive charging red ceros in front of their masks that were launched with an impressive force that shook the earth at impact.

Rai had no problem in dodging them, furthermore using them to his advantage to put down others. His speed greatly exceeded theirs, moving like a bullet between them and slicing with his blade every one of them that came into view. He finally stopped to catch his breath silently cursing at their huge number but had to move again to avoid being blasted into oblivion.

"This is starting to get old! _Shiwase no Kaze_!"

Razor sharp waves of wind flew in the air momentarily creating a twister around the group of hollows that swiftly closed in cutting to pieces the howling specters caught inside. The attack decreased the number of the menos to only a few although many others continued to pour through the black gap between the worlds.

The thuds echoed through the ground with each massive step before reverberating in the air and shaking Raimundo to the core. The black clad creatures stopped for a second charging red balls of reiatsu again and launched them at the same time creating an avalanche of blasting energy. The brown haired shinigami frowned but stood his ground thrusting his hand forward with a yell.

"_Bakud__ō__ no sanj__ū__ ky__ū,__ Enkosen__!_"

The yellow shield appeared in front of him and protected his small form from the constant hits of the ceros. The rest of the shots passed around him like red glowing shooting stars as he held the barrier up with his eyes narrowed to slits just when a sudden creak scratched his ears. His green eyes widened in fear as they trailed on the small crack that started to appear on the shield's extremities.

"Of course! Now of all times!" He leaped backwards letting the barrier get destroyed by the discharge and shunpo-ed through the red storm reaching the trees level and resting between their thick branches. _'I hope Kimiko is doing better than me!'_

**-Bleach-**

Her steps were light on the trees, barely touching them before leaping on the next one. Her sapphire eyes were focused on Dojo's slender body as he slithered between the tangled mass of the forest while her ears stayed sharp picking any sounds that may lead to an attack. So far, Kimiko could only sense the menos and Raimundo. She also realized that they were most likely a decoy and that whatever was to come it would be fast and straight to the point…meaning the two humans riding the dragon beneath her.

Down, holding tightly Joseph's anorak was Suna. She shifted anxiously on the dragon's cold scales feeling them brushing her legs a little harsher than usual, to get closer to the blond in front of her. Her light blue eyes shone with concern and each time she heard a collision a small wince escaped her lips making her hands grip more firmly the boy and pull him closer to her.

The wind passed by them strongly but she could care less about the condition of her hair. Although she was sure it looked worse than an abandoned bird nest. The only thoughts running in her mind were whether she and her friends would ever get out of this situation alive. She knew of course the risk of being a xiaolin dragon but they were still beginners and none of them were prepared to fight those kind of things.

The red haired girl tiredly placed her head between Joseph's shoulder blades feeling his muscles tense at the sudden movement. He soon relaxed shortly glancing behind him at the girl. His brown eyes softened but not enough to lose the determined glint of inner strength burning in his soul.

He turned his stare back forward, clenching and unclenching his fists as his jaw tightened in a sign of nervousness. He didn't know why he was feeling like that! It was just a hunch, a knot in the pit of his stomach that said things would go worse than they currently were. He tried to clear his mind but found out he couldn't. The loud bangs faraway sounded ten times stronger in his ears while his intuition screamed at him continuously to grab the red head and duck…

Right about…

NOW!

Kimiko moved fast. The blast was intercepted by one of her kodachi swords resulting in a minor shockwave that unbalanced Dojo's flight. Joseph was prepared for the hit. Shifting a hand around Suna's waist he leaped away right before the collision landing lightly on the ground.

Suna yelped at the sudden movements but clung to the teen nonetheless. Dojo struck the forest floor a little ways away from them and morphed in his smaller form dizzily holding his head. Joseph lunged after him and grabbed his tail saving him in the nick of time from another green blast that cracked the ground where he just stood. The three moved their sights upwards to the canopy of trees and caught a glimpse of their attacker facing Kimiko.

"What do we do?" Suna asked quietly watching the two starting to exchange blows at a rapid pace. She glanced at her blond friend when he didn't answer. He wore a hard look, keeping his eyes on the fight and following the sparkling clangs of their blades as their wielders flew in the air in blurs of black, white and red.

"Joseph?" She spoke again in a timid voice.

The boy grunted narrowing his eyes. "How can they be so fast? I can barely follow them!"

"Trust me kiddo, they're way and I mean _way_ out of your league!" Chipped in Dojo. His head was still spinning like mad but he needn't to worry. He was a dragon after all, his kind was resilient.

"But still…"

He shook his head at the two xiaolin dragons. "You can't do anything. Better let Kimiko handle the guy or you'll get cooked during the fight…and I mean that too."

Joseph had to bite down his tongue and clenched his teeth. He knew he couldn't do much and someone had to stay with Suna. She was a good fighter but she didn't work well under stress. And the past days were full of that. He scooted closer to her as Dojo climbed on his shoulder and motioned for her to move in the bushes. They should be a bit more covered and out of sight there.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Kimiko pushed in a cartwheel just as the branch she was standing on was cut cleanly in two. She landed easily on her toes and leaped once again in the air. Auzric calmly watched her come at him from his spot above ready to deliver a roundhouse kick. He blocked it with his forearm and countered the punch to his ribs. He winced at the force put in the attack but only tightened his grip on her fist.

Kimiko growled thrusting her sword in his chest but the Arrancar vanished before it could make contact. She did the same via shunpo tracking him throughout the forest. They met in the air blades drawn and screeching ferociously against each other.

"My stars informed me about our fated meeting." The blue haired man spoke in his low monotonous voice.

Kimiko sneered at him, fed up with all the star gazing crap and pressed on more forcefully on her swords. "Did your stars predicted how I'm gonna whip your ass all over this forest?"

"Not really! But they did describe a gruesome way of your demise which I prefer not to go into."

"You're kinda sick, you know that?"

Auzric merely hned at her with a blank face - the same one he had all this time - before they parted. He disappeared again with sonido and came from behind Kimiko. The young captain spun around and the blades struck each other again. The two opponents began maneuvering their weapons around one another aiming for any opening but being stopped just in time.

Their sharp bladed dance was precise and fast, the slashes coming from everywhere and sliced through anything around them. Kimiko found a small tinge of satisfaction building up inside her as she dodged and stopped Auzric swings, throwing back cuts of her own. So far she didn't manage to hack her opponent at all but none of them had their zanpakuto activated yet anyway.

A vertical slash forced her to step back which was immediately followed by a simple thrust. Kimiko spun around it using the a branch to propel herself forward. She slouched lower to the ground readying her kodachi while her free hand flew to the sheath of the second one. Auzric glimpsed the action and swiftly blocked her swing all the while stepping back and tilting his head as another blade flew past his neck and embedded into the tree bark.

Kimiko pulled the sword with the purpose of cutting the hollow's head but the blue haired man proved to be quicker than that. He dropped down, the katana chinking against her kodachi before shifting the hilt in his hand and drawing an oblique arc. Kimiko gritted her teeth as she jerked away. She was lucky the blade passed by inches away from her chest or she would have gotten a permanent scar.

She landed on a further branch and rose her blades at eye level. Auzric watched her movements blankly, not showing the slightest bit of an emotion flickering in his orbs. A moment of silence passed between them when a sudden explosion rocketed the ground. Kimiko's eyes right away searched for the perturbation and she found it easily. The remaining Menos ravaged the forest without a care starting to aim closer to their location. The blast that hit seconds ago was barely a mile away.

She unconsciously bit her lip before returning her attention at the man in front of her. Only he wasn't there. Her eyes widened in surprise and a gasp froze in her throat realizing he used her distraction to go after Joseph and Suna. She gripped the swords tighter and shunpo-ed rapidly where she had last seen them.

**-Bleach-**

Raimundo heaved a frustrated sigh as Roo's katana struck his sword once more. He glared and pushed forward against the Arrancar until he forced him to move back. Roo only smirked and flickered out of sight appearing all around Raimundo in after images. The shinigami frowned gripping the handle of Teikiatsu with both arms.

He swung to his side blocking a wild slash that vanished a second later and came from behind. Rai spun around just as fast and brought his blade in front of him. The hit pushed him backward in the path of a cero of one of the still standing Menos. He shunpo-ed out of the way but Roo was ahead of him as he anticipated the move.

The clank that followed was short lived as many others came after it. Raimundo was getting irritated with every second. Just when he was about to get rid of the few hollows left, the annoying maniac showed up again and started attacking in a similar manner to Kenpachi. Rai couldn't help but shudder at the comparison.

He threw off a thrust slashing through the opening although Roo covered it in the nick of time evading a possibly deadly hit. The black haired Arrancar stepped back swinging up the blade which was once again shaken off by Raimundo. It became too much of a routine for them to trade blow after blow with no one getting the upper hand so the brunet decided to up the ante a bit and with a growl moved forward and attempted to knee his opponent in the stomach.

Taken aback by the out of the blue change of fighting style Roo had to take a second to pull himself together. However, Raimundo wouldn't have any of that. Smirking, he leaped towards him drawing back his fist and buried it in his abdomen with a strength that would make Clay proud. Roo was shot down in the forest below causing a dust cloud to form around the crash spot.

"That takes care of a headache." He smiled.

Turning around swiftly he cut the air sending a wave of pressurized spiritual energy to the nearest Gillian before beginning to do the same for the rest of them. Out of a few dozen there were only about ten lasting hollows and he wanted to take them down fast so he could return to Roo and finally finish him off.

Avoiding a cero, he jumped up above one of them and came down with a slash that split it in two. He shifted his attention at another one but the sudden explosive contact of a cero with the forest ground surprised him. Debris along with chunks of earth flew in the air while the fire spread on the now barren mark. Rai narrowed his eyes and raised the hem of his haori trying to protect his face from the onslaught of smoke and dust when something flashed in his peripheral vision.

A swift breeze was his only indication.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Suna coughed, feeling her lungs suffocate with the amount of dust she inhaled. Her eyes stung and tears began slipping through her eyelids. Beside her Joseph was in no better condition. They tried to make a break for it. Tried to put as much of a distance as they could between them and the on-going fights, fact which the blond strongly disagreed with even now, but the explosion happened really close to their position.

Dojo was hacking repeatedly from where he had been thrown during the blast, struggling to pry his eyes open and maybe seek of a way to get the kids to a safe place. Unfortunately, he wasn't very successful. His head still throbbed in rhythm with an imaginary drum, steadily and continuously, and his flight was likely to be affected by it. Nonetheless, he had to do something.

He hated feeling so useless. He hated having to rely on others. All those times back with the old gang, when they fought and he did nothing but hide taught him something important. He cared for those kids just as much as he cared for Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo and Clay. He was too much of a coward to protect them back then but he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

With a final cough, the green dragon shook his head and grew to his real size. His hands felt around him for the two teens as his eyes were too blurred by tears and clouded by the smoke swirling in the air to see something. When he finally found them, he lifted the two in his claws and brought them closer to his body.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked a dry cough escaping his throat.

"Fabulous, Dojo! Fabulous!" Joseph choked out. "Can you get us out?"

Blinking rapidly, the dragon glanced around the smoke filled area. He gulped but gagged right after tasting the burned smolder. "Ugh! I'll try! Hang in there kiddies!"

With a push, he rose in the air and continued to fly upwards despite the intensifying ache in his skull. He forced himself to ignore the pain and pressed on escaping the dangerous field. As the fume begun to thin out, Dojo smiled in joy. "We're almost there!"

He heard a sigh of relief and a low mutter that he didn't bother to understand. Slowly the blue of the sky crept through the veil and with a victorious laugh he broke out of it. He flew over the tree tops grinning widely breathing in the cold, fresh air of the woods. He felt Joseph and Suna struggling out of his hands and he eased his grip allowing them to climb on his back.

"Dojo, you saved us!" Suna yelled over the wind as he sped up. Her voice was hoarse like she hadn't used it in ages but at that moment she didn't care how much it hurt her throat.

"Nice go, Dojo!" Added the blond. Truth to be told, he was impressed with the dragon's conviction and he could only hope he would show such a determination in the future too.

"Thanks guys." He glanced back at them smiling sheepishly. "It means a lot to me." Now that the adrenaline was done with, the throb returned with a vengeance. Dojo could barely keep his focus forward without the landscape beginning to twist in his vision. He descended, deciding to fly closer to the ground in case he would black out or something and that's when he noticed the blur zooming in on them.

His eyes widened in fear and he weaved in the air gaining shocked yells from his riders just as a green ray shot past them. With his head already swirling, Dojo lost his balance and went plummeting to the ground. The dizziness only managed to make him feel sick and despite the shouts of the two dragons, the shape-shifter couldn't do anything else as he lost consciousness.

Holding onto Dojo for dear life, Joseph kept screaming for the dragon to wake up. He knew it was a futile effort but after how he bailed them out of the blast area he wanted the dragon to keep it up. He wanted Dojo to keep it up because he wasn't sure he, himself, could do it anymore. It all came down to how weak he was. Han and Kassie were probably on the verge of death because he couldn't get to them quick enough, Suna was constantly blaming herself for the shaky bonds of their team and how alienated he became with everyone, now Dojo was injured because he didn't act faster…twice already.

He saw Kimiko fight that blue haired man. He saw the level of their skill which he understood then he was nowhere near. He was merely a nuisance compared to them.

"_Trust me kiddo, they're way and I mean _way_ out of your league!"_

"_You can't do anything."_

'_I want to do _something_…'_

BOOM.

Suna yelled as she was jostled away from Dojo. She skidded on the rough floor further away from the inert dragon but she didn't bother getting up. Her whole body ached incredibly. For a moment her mind flashed back to the night of the attack and she cringed pulling her scratched knees to her chest.

"Not again! Please, not again!"

Soft footsteps reverberated through the ground and her gaze lifted. Tears gathered in her eyes as she made out the figure of the red coated man approaching her. With trembling hands she pushed her body in an upright position, her fingers digging in the dirt beneath her.

"You are such a pathetic creature." He uttered in a monotonous tone.

Suna swallowed a sob.

"You're only a waste of time and space. Just look at you!" She didn't know if his emotionless voice was hurting her, his words or both. What she knew was that she couldn't keep her cries in anymore. "I'd rather kill you on the spot than let my Master lay eyes on you, worthless weakling! You stay and cry and do absolutely nothing leaving everyone else to protect you."

A desperate wail cracked through her shield bringing it down completely. Her head dropped letting red hair hide her bloodshot eyes from view. Her dirty fingers curled into fists as her shoulders shook with each sob.

"Your Star is dying…" She heard him whisper in the same tedious manner.

"And its light shall fade the same way your heart shall cease."

* * *

**Translation:**

_**Shiwase no Kaze **_**– Blissful Wind**

_**Bakud**__**ō**__** no sanj**__**ū**__** ky**__**ū,**__** Enkosen **_**- ****Way of Binding Number 39, Arc Shield**


	8. Chapter 8

**And this marks the end of the Arrancar Assault Ark. I'm sorry to say I didn't get around to plan the plot as despite being the Easter holiday and all I've been busy with my Architecture classes and cleaning and keeping my insane dog out of mom's way. I swear, that thing can eat **_**anything**_**. **

**Anyway, enjoy the reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Green eyes watched stunned the ice spear blocking Roo's katana. Slowly, he followed the transparent blade down to a hand and then to its owner. He was met with two pools of blackness and an insufferable arrogant grin which could only be translated as: 'If I wasn't here you would be dead, so ha! You owe me!'.

His features turned into a scowl faster than Yachiru's mood swings. "Hey, Omi!" He greeted unenthusiastically.

"Hello Raimundo! I noticed you were in a bit of a difficulty and I thought I should be a good friend and lend you a hand." The smaller boy chirped happily ignoring the arrancar's befuddled expression.

Rai felt his eyebrow twitch. "I can handle this perfectly, thank you!" He groaned through gritted teeth.

"You weren't exactly _handling_ this from where I was standing." Omi mentioned innocently.

"And _where_ were you standing, to be more precise?" Challenged the brunet.

Roo sweat dropped hearing the conversation between the two shinigami. The two _Captain_ shinigami, he suddenly realized. '_Wonderful! Just wonderful!' _He thought sarcastically. With three captains, things would go slower than they anticipated. It was hard enough to distract two, how were they going to stall three?

"Clay is here?"

He turned his attention back to the two.

"Oh yes! He went to help Kimiko. Although, it would have been my pleasure to aid my female colleague in combat against such strong opponents…" He trailed off wistfully.

'_Four? So not good!'_ Roo wondered if he would be able to sneak away from those two without them knowing.

"I can't believe you still haven't learned your lesson. I knew her punches would do you more bad than good…even if it's a hell of a fun to watch."

Beside his escaping schemes a part of Roo's mind speculated what kind of relation existed between those shinigami.

"It's just so hard to suppress my opinions. I always end up mentioning something about the inferiority of women."

"Omi, there is a saying: 'Silence is gold.'"

"Dude, you should know better than to anger a short tempered woman." Even _he_ was surprised at hearing his own voice speaking. Raimundo and Omi stared at the Arrancar for a minute and Roo had to crush the nervousness blooming inside him.

"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell him for ages." Exploded the brunet shinigami to the hollow's great astonishment. "He simply doesn't understand."

"I can't help it if I'm socially awkward with females." Mumbled the bald kid slightly red in the cheeks.

"What you need to do is compliment them." Roo spoke to his even greater astonishment. "Ya'know, tell them how good they do stuff, and how amazing they are and all that shit. It's like a charm."

"He's right." Agreed Raimundo. "That's how I usually calm down Kimiko. I say something sweet and she goes all mushy."

Omi mulled over everything he has heard and smile as he came to a conclusion. "Yes! I should give it a shot. Thanks Raimundo and uh…"

"Roo. Roo Cuervo."

The short captain nodded. "I am Omi, Captain of the Fifth Division. It is nice to meet such a pleasant adversary once in a while."

The black haired hollow shrugged. "I suppose."

"But we still have to fight you." Omi added seriously.

Roo smirked. "I'm sure of that." He sonido-ed away from their position. "I don't really stand a chance against the two of you but I don't wanna go down without a fight, got it? So, bring it on, shinigami!

Reach for the greater, _Ala_!"

Raimundo frowned taking his stance while Omi twirled the ice spear like blade in his hands. When the spiritual pressure disperse, the winged form of Roo remained floating in the air, a sadistic smirk playing on his lips.

"It was fun and dandy to talk to you I admit…but the truth is we are enemies no matter what! Let's finish this already!" With a battle cry, the Arrancar flapped his wings and zipped towards them a cero already forming in both of his hands.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Hazy blue eyes glanced through the veil of red hair. Somebody was standing in front of her and looking closely she distinguished in horror the glistening bloody sword sticking out of them. She choked and strived to see through the tears cascading down her cheeks. The person that protected her was none other than Joseph she realized.

A sudden numbness spread in her limbs. She still cried but it all was mute. The katana leisurely was pulled out of the blond and he staggered. He fell on his knees and all she could do was watch in morbid hopelessness how the man stepped forward and grabbed a fistful of his golden locks. Her lips quivered trying to form a sound. Any sound.

'_Call his name. _

_Call Kimiko! _

_Call _somebody_ dammit!'_

She flinched when the man shoved the boy to the ground and continued his way towards her. Eyes wide open, wildly searching for a way to get out of his reach, to use as a barrier between them…to do something that would stop _it_!

She was frozen. Her legs wouldn't respond, her brain simply shut down. She exhaled frightfully. Her hands made their way to her head, grabbing smooth strands of hair, eyes fixed on the body laying a few feet in front of her. She vaguely took in that the man stopped. She didn't care. All that it matter was the anguish slipping in her heart. The merciless view that was placed in her face.

And she yelled.

She bowled hysterically at the truth.

She heard her heart break like glass and her soul crumble like a burnt paper. A wave of terror crept on her being, a torture which she had no option than to take solace into. She deserve it. It was her fault.

Her arms wrapped around her, mud stained nails digging holes in her flesh farther deepening her agony. But it was only physical pain. What she experienced was a world shattering certainty.

She was a worthless burden.

"You are broken."

Indistinct words. Empty. Meaningless.

She wailed her pain for the world to hear.

"He was everything for you I understand."

The sense of his talk was lost on her.

She could only see his body. Unmoving. Frozen. _Dead_.

"Humans are so frail."

Bloody fingers persisted on drawing long reddish lines on her skin.

'_So frail…'_

"Do you want to stay with him?"

'_Stay…him…Yes!'_

"Come with me then."

'…_Yes!...'_

**-Bleach-**

Kimiko grunted as another lowly hollowed disappeared in contact with the flamming edges of her zanpakuto. She sent a wave of fire to some approaching beasts before leaping back in the trees and trying to get away from them.

She lost Auzric some time ago, instead being greeted by a horde of hollows that she knew were meant to keep her occupied. A bird swooped down on her and she jumped away from the sharp beak as it broke through the wooden limb. Slashing with the swords, the hollow was gone in seconds, however, in its stead appeared some sort of monkey-rhino hybrid. A pair of muscular arms plunged from above but Kimiko was fast as she quickly stepped in front of the monster and cut cleanly through its abdomen.

She growled slipping through the branches and evading a clawed hand. She flipped back up in the next moment and slashed vertically at the pestering hollow. A spark of spiritual pressure announced her of an impending attack and she swiftly formed a shield that stopped the cero. Vanishing via shunpo, the black haired shinigami appear in front of her foe decapitating it.

"God, dammit!"

Again, flipping over the branches, Kimiko landed lightly behind a pair of hollows swiftly spinning on the spot and cutting off their legs with a blade while the other one sliced through their backs.

She rolled out of the way of a blast springing to her feet in no time when a black axe descended crushing the head of her offender. Her eyes widened a second before a smirk formed on her pretty face.

"I knew I wasn't hallucinating."

The black clad, blonde cowboy tipped his hat smiling knowingly at the woman as he balanced his weight on the axe still stuck in the sturdy branch. "Always a pleasure, little lady!" He suddenly grew serious. "Ya should better take yer leave. Ya lost enough time already."

Kimiko sheathed her kodachi blades and nodded. "Thanks Clay."

Lifting the heavy blade on his shoulder the man grinned. "What are friends for?" He then proceeded to swing the axe around like a bat hitting any forthcoming hollow. "Come here ya good for nothing parasites!"

Kimiko smiled fondly at the tall blond and took off. She remembered perfectly Auzric's spiritual signature so finding him proved to be nothing short of too easy. What worried her was that she could feel smaller, weaker, spiritual pressures beside him. Frowning darkly at the thoughts swirling in her mind, the shinigami captain quickened her pace.

She reached a clearer area indicating a crash. She was soon to find the source and it only made her stomach churn with anxiety. Dojo lied on his side, a bleeding gash adorning the side of his head which Kimiko checked and made sure it wasn't serious, but no xiaolin warriors.

Despite that, Auzric's presence was nearby. She figured he was up to something. No one would flare their existence so much without a reason. She sighed in resignation and headed in his direction. A few leaps over the forest and there he was.

Standing straight and impassive, the man was a perfect statue. Behind him was something Kimiko dreaded to see though. His black orbs met her azure ones and the shadow of a smirk lifted his lips. A swift shunpo and she was in front of him, eyes never leaving his cold look.

"What have you done?" The inquiry was spoken calmly and soullessly.

"I tested them." He replied in the same tone. "One passed, the other failed, but their fate was the same."

"Why are you still here then?"

He didn't answered right away, taking a moment to formulate his response. "The stars mentioned your death and I intend to be the cause of it."

Despite the cold exterior, her insides were burning. The last word of the sentence embodied the last straw and Kimiko swiftly pulled out her swords and activated the shikai while on the other side of the battlefield Auzric released his real spiritual pressures sky rocketed as both combatants took their position, glaring at each other, ready to fight to the end.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

Everything swam in his vision; blurred colors and indistinguishable images. He couldn't make head or tail of them but he didn't feel like doing it either. It required too much concentration when all he wanted was to stay motionless, unresponsive…resting.

A state of tranquility reigned over him. His mind felt numb. He wanted to leave it at that, however, an annoying buzz in the back of his head kept disturbing his peace. It warned him. Commanded him to wake up, open his eyes, pay attention to whatever was going on around him.

He tried to ignore it but it didn't go away. He tried to remember what had happened. It all was fuzzy. He could discern something red, though. A lot of red now that he made an effort. Although he couldn't tell _what_ exactly was red. Everything was too distorted. He tried to make a sound but his body was like lead. He didn't know, was he even breathing? His throat was dry and completely frozen. He didn't believe he could breathe like that. But he was coherent…at least in thoughts. Did that count? Did that mean he was still alive?

If yes, then he had to get up. But he felt tired. Exhausted, actually. Was it whatever he was doing that important? The throb in his head intensified. That must have been a yes, he decided. And he forced his eyes to open. Or attempted to because, apparently they didn't wanted to listen. He release a mental growl. He could have just given up. But _something_ was harassing him not to.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the mess of pictures arranged themselves in his mind and he made out a few scenes which sparked his memory. The forest, the giant monsters, Auzric and Kimiko, Dojo falling '…_Suna! What happened to her?'_

An unbearable hot pain suddenly appeared in his abdomen. A gasp – _So I _am_ alive!_ – escaped his lungs as the burning spread around his middle. A coldness lingered on his skin, sticking to his skin the material of his torn t-shirt. '_Red…Blood. My blood.'_

'_Shit! At this rate, I'll bleed to death.'_

Trying to push the pain away was simply impossible. It consumed his very being, but he strained his eyes to open. Finally, they obeyed. He grunted as a wave of agony washed over him while he blinked through the cloud of tears and dust. He could see the blue sky overhead and vaguely hear clangs somewhere in the distance.

He tilted his head, a grimace passing over his features. He was in a clearing, further away there were blurs and sparks that he came to associate to a fight between, he supposed, Kimiko and Auzric, and nearer to him a mass of red hair. His heart would have most likely skipped a beat if it weren't for the fact that he needed all the air he could get.

Breathing in and out, as the pain pounded relentlessly in his front, he swallowed and turn on his side. He bit back a scream when the fresh wound switched to full on blazing and blood began streaming out. He paused momentarily struggling to regain his breath before starting to edge bit by bit to the girl's side. Each movement caused his head to spin and his heart to thunder in his chest. It was agony but managed.

He reached out with his hand, fingers soaked in blood and grime brushing against Suna's arm. The girl's tear streaked face scrunched up in a frightened expression and she curled up in a tight ball whimpering. For a second, Joseph hesitated before he gripped her bloody fingers, brown eyes trailing miserably the long crimson scratches adorning the girl's forearms.

He dropped his head on the ground, at last feeling the fatigue his endeavor provoked. Unfocused eyes followed the two moving shadows on the other side of the field and for the first time he didn't wish to be there. He closed his eyes and let the blackness take him.

**-Bleach-**

Everyone knew _not_ to mess around with Kimiko when she was like that. The flaming edges of her blades flared angrily in tempo with her ravaging emotions. She was a hazard and the only thing on her mind was to unleash it on the man in front of her. A long chink resounded as her sword crashed against the Arrancar's armored hand and she rapidly swung the other one upwards.

Auzric leaned back, nonetheless, still affected by the heat of the sword as it passed by his face. He fixed his clawed limbs in the ground and lashed out with a right punch that Kimiko blocked with the side of her sword and swerved it around his arm effectively leaving gashes on his hierro. The blue haired man didn't flinch as he caught the second blade before planting a kick in her stomach.

The woman skidded back and sooner than she could recover Auzric was behind her delivering a harsh elbow in the back of her head followed by a kick to her ribs. Kimiko cussed at her sluggishness and tried to redeem herself midair but the Arrancar didn't allow her. She was only fast enough to form a shield with her blades before she was drove downwards in the ground.

She pulled herself fast out of the crater and shunpo-ed in the air, swords placed in an 'x' as she yelled: "_Tsuin Chourui_!"

The blue bird shaped attack soared through the air while on the other side, Auzric ran his fingers in a triangle pattern. The attack collided with the white shield and dissolve.

Kimiko smirked. "…the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! _Had__ō__ no sanj__ū__ ichi! Shakkah__ō__!_" The red large flame rocketed through the smoke resulted in the last explosion hitting the Arrancar head on.

Kimiko didn't waste a second. She plunged after him bringing the blades on her side and then flipped in the air gracefully cutting vertically and releasing droplets of rain like fire. "_Nenshou Heki!"_

The continuous blasts devastated the forest ground turning it to ashes. She panted, azure orbs shadowing every inch of land in search of the man. Her hands gripped the handles of her zanpakuto, anger barely subsided. Her body ached from the bruises forming from the hits she has received but her mind didn't comprehend the pain at its real level.

Acting on pure instinct, she ducked. A fist passed over her head and Kimiko's eyes widened as she spotted the burnt figure of Auzric leaping at her with a furious scowl. Her eyes narrowed right way and she steadied her stance. Blurry strikes beat upon the blades of her swords as she slowly stepped back, every time an opening was revealed slashing at him with meticulous sways of her hands.

Kimiko grunted as one of the spikes on Auzric's hand tore through the skin of her wrist. She waved her arms throwing off his hits and bounced back to put some distance between them. However she only had a few moments when seven rays of red energy shot towards her. She evaded them and they crashed against the ground but she was too slow when Auzric aimed a kick at her. He smacked her in the shoulder at the same time driving through her flesh his sharp claws. Kimiko yelled stiffly and spun around steering a sword to his chest, eyes blazing with rage. He redirected it with his hand and stepped back from the other one.

"_Tsuin Chourui_!"

Blades flashing blue, the flames engulfed the Arrancar and Kimiko used his distraction to shove her leg in his gut. She flipped with a roundhouse kick to his head that sent him flying to the ground and shunpo-ed after him promptly driving her zanpakuto in his chest.

Auzric growled in pain and pushed the woman off of him. He jumped up, a cero prepared in his palm that he released swiftly. Kimiko called upon a bakudō spell that stopped the devastating attack and before she could reply he hurled his fist in her face. Kimiko was thrown backwards, blood spraying out of her nose but she recovered fast and flung her leg in his jaw hearing with pleasure a distinctive snap.

"You bitch!"

"The bastard is talking!" Replied Kimiko heatedly. "_Shakkah__ō_!"

The swirling ball of flames was met by the blinding light of Auzric's shield, however Kimiko leaped forward swinging her ablaze swords. Auzric crossed his arms grunting slightly as the blades dug in his hard skin. He pushed her back launching a punch. Kimiko sidestepped and he hit the ground with an echoing bang. The woman finally saw her chance and with a battle cry she lunged at his unprotected back.

**-Xiaolin Showdown-**

"_Hyokai_!"

Shards of ice flew in the air clashing against the bony feathers previously thrown by Roo. Omi leaped with his transparent blade at the Arrancar who blocked it with his claws only to tiptoe a second later around Raimundo's slash from below. The two Shinigami charged at the winged young man who released cero after cero in hopes of slowing them down.

The fight had gone on for too long and with the blasts coming from the battle farther away they decided to cut theirs short. Raimundo clashed his blade against Roo's forearm hearing a slight crack and pushed forward ducking under the Arrancar's desperate attempt to get him away. He recoiled with a smirk, leaving Omi to dive in after him. The short captain exchanged slashes at a rapid pace while Raimundo snuck up from behind aiming his hand at Roo's back.

"_Had__ō__ no sanj__ū__ san, S__ō__katsui_!"

The blue lightning bolt cracked through the air speeding towards the man who could only watch in surprise as the beam of energy neared him. The blast sent him plummeting to the forest with Omi following closely. The bald young man twirled the spear around as his spiritual energy swirled in the air.

"_Bakufuu_!" A torrent of water sprung from the tip of the blade.

Beside him, Raimundo raised his zanpakuto above his head as the sky began to bloom with thunders. "_Hageshii Arashi_!"

The combination of wind and water created a vortex that swallowed the forest where Roo crashed. The Arrancar growled as he shakily stood up, centering his reiatsu in a last discharge. He wasn't going to be defeated without adding his mark. His wings spread as a red aura gradually surrounded him.

"_Jigoku Iki_!"

A flamethrower shot upwards clashing with Omi's and Raimundo's whirlpool. The two attacks pushed forcefully against each other for dominance putting down the neighboring trees. Roo snarled sending out his remaining energy into one last push. The pillar of fire eventually shot through the frozen waters resulting in the Shinigami having to split up in order to avoid it while down on the forest floor, the Arrancar panted tiredly.

"That was one mighty show!"

His head shot up at the unknown voice. Glancing around nervously he spotted the source: a black clad, blond Shinigami wearing a big, weird hat who was smiling down at him.

"Piss off!" He shot back.

"Can't do that, partner!"

Roo smiled sourly. "Why don't you just kill me then, Shinigami! I'm done for."

"Begging to get killed now? That's pathetic, Roo!" The Arrancar looked up seeing the figure of the brunet Shinigami. Raimundo watched him with apathy resting his sealed zanpakuto on his shoulder in a manner similar to Kenpachi.

Beside him stood Omi, a somehow depressing spark dancing in his deep black eyes. "You cannot fight anymore."

Roo sighed, eyes drifting to the ground. "Maybe…or maybe not!"

Light blue eyes glanced at them roguishly, his hands twitching as they gathered whatever energy he had left. He didn't had time to do anything, though, as three blades suddenly impaled him through the chest.

His stunned look melted in a smirk. "I wasn't going to do anything anyway." Were his last words before he collapsed at their feet.

The three Shinigami looked at him blankly for several moments. Finally Clay exhaled loudly gaining the other two's attentions. "We should find Kimiko." Raimundo and Omi nodded and wordlessly shunpo-ed away tracing their fellow female's spiritual signature.

* * *

**Translation:**

_**Tsuin Chourui**_** – Frozen Twin Birds**

_**Had**__**ō**__** no sanj**__**ū**__** ichi! Shakkah**__**ō**_** – Way of Destruction Number 31! Red Fire Cannon**

_**Nenshou Heki**_** – Burning Tears**

_**Hyokai**_** – Frozen Sea**

_**Had**__**ō**__** no sanj**__**ū**__** san, S**__**ō**__**katsui**_** - Way of Destruction Number 33, Blue Fire Crash Down**

_**Bakufuu**_** – Blasting Waves**

_**Hageshii Arashi**_** – Raging Storm**

_**Jigoku Iki**_** – Hell Breath**

**Quite some many fights around here, ne? Hopefully things will slow down a bit in the future. As I said in the beginning, I **_**still**_** don't have a good idea of the finale so the next update will be…I don't know. Whenever I can find time and inspiration. I left an opening in there in case I can make a twist and ease the flow and logic of the soon-to-be plot. Either that or I'll simply not gonna use it and that's not a problem.**

**Well then, see ya next time!**


End file.
